Nine killed in house collapse in Gujarat

GANDHINAGAR - Nine members of a family were killed in a house collapse following heavy rains in the temple town of Somnath in Junagadh district of Gujarat in the early hours Monday.

According to police, the entire family comprising three men and six women died when the house collapsed on them around 3 a.m. All the shops in the town remained closed to mourn the deaths.

Ahmedabad, which was hit by torrential rains Saturday night, also reported two house collapses Monday but there were no fatalities. In one of the collapses in Manekchowk, two people were injured when an old building which housed over 35 jewellery artisans collapsed. Luckily only seven people were inside at the time, two of whom were injured while the five others were rescued by the fire brigade.

Though the rains have stopped in Ahmedabad, low lying areas are still waterlogged and the civic machinery is working round the clock to drain the water. The Motera stadium of the Gujarat Cricket Association was amongst the worst hit with 8 to 10 feet of water reported on the ground. GCA secretary, Rajesh Patel, put the losses due to the rains at Rs.50 lakh. “The major problem would be preparing the ground for the first Test match between India and New Zealand in November.”

Chief Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with officials of the state Disaster Management Authority to review the flood situation and directed immediate measures to deal with the situation.