Ahmedabad: The opposition Congress in Gujarat on Thursday demanded that a special investigation team (SIT) should be formed to find out the reasons for the flood-like situation witnessed in parts of Bharuch district following the release of huge amount of water in the Narmada river earlier this week.
The BJP government in the state should also announce a special compensation package for the flood-affected residents of the district as waterlogging caused unprecedented damage to house owners, shopkeepers, farmers and cattle-rearers, it said in a release.
Excess water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam was released into the river suddenly instead of releasing it gradually over days on September 17 to "please Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday", the Congress had alleged earlier. The ruling BJP denied the allegation, claiming that a sudden influx of water in the dam, located near Ekta Nagar, in a span of 36 hours forced the authorities to release 18 lakh cusecs of water downstream.
On Wednesday, a Congress delegation led by the deputy leader of the state Congress legislative party, Shailesh Parmar, and state unit working president, Himmatsinh Patel, visited some of the flood-hit villages, the release said. The floodwaters caused enormous damage to property and agriculture, Parmar told reporters here on Thursday.
"The Gujarat government should immediately conduct a survey to assess the damage caused by the flood and announce a special package for the flood-hit people to compensate for losses. Since the damage is overwhelming, cash aid should also be disbursed immediately," he said.
"We also demand that an SIT headed by a sitting or retired high court judge should be formed to investigate the reasons which led to this man-made calamity," said Parmar.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA of Ankleshwar in Bharuch and former minister Ishwarsinh Patel faced the ire of locals when he visited Borbhatha village in Ankleshwar taluka on Thursday. Residents asked him why they were not given advance warning about the release of water, and alleged that the authorities did not do enough to reduce the water levels in their area. (PTI)
