Over 35,000 people relocated; runway of Ahmedabad airport damaged

Heavy rains continue to lash parts of North Gujarat that has been badly hit by floods, resulting in the relocation of more than 35,000 people from vulnerable areas. Over 2500 people stranded in flood waters were rescued by the Air Force, Army, NDRF, BSF and SDRF.

In Ahmedabad, torrential rains damaged the runway of the airport, leading to diversion of two Air India flights on Wednesday.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the State for an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas, Central authorities have provided more resources such as choppers and manpower to intensify rescue works as hundreds of villages are cut off as roads were washed away or inundated.

On Tuesday, Mr. Modi announced a special package of Rs. 500 crore to deal with the calamity.

Most of the roads, including national and State highways passing through the North Gujarat region, were washed away and are inundated, while rail tracks have also been damaged, forcing the railways authorities to cancel several trains, including the Ahmedabad-Delhi Rajdhani Express.