Rajkot/Surat: As torrential rain finally eased across most parts of Gujarat on Saturday after three days of relentless battering, the immediate focus shifted from rescue operations to repairing the extensive damage left behind on roads, highways and bridges across the state.From Saurashtra to south Gujarat, heavy rain exposed the vulnerability of transport infrastructure, with highways developing craters, bridge approaches collapsing, roads being washed away and several stretches remaining submerged, disrupting traffic and isolating villages.
10 employees of ONGC rescued by Home Guards
One of the worst-hit stretches was National Highway-51 near Husainabad village in Junagadh’s Mangrol taluka, where a portion of the highway connecting Dwarka and Somnath was washed away, forcing authorities to suspend traffic. The Junagadh district administration, along with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), restored the damaged stretch on Saturday after emergency repairs.The highway closure stranded nearly 900 passengers travelling in state transport buses, who were shifted to cyclone shelters and provided food and drinking water.
19 people caught in flood at Samdhiyala village in Mendarda taluka rescued
Rescue teams also saved 19 people trapped in three vehicles near Samadhiyala village in Mendarda taluka after rising floodwaters surrounded them.The Rajula-Jafrabad-Pipavav coastal belt in Amreli district witnessed a fresh spell of intense showers, causing widespread waterlogging.In north Gujarat, around 5 inches of rain left several parts of Patan town waterlogged, disrupting traffic and daily life. Residents alleged that inadequate pre-monsoon preparations by the civic body had worsened the situation. In neighbouring Aravalli district, authorities barred heavy vehicles from using the Vatrak river bridge near Dabha village on the Bayad-Dehgam state highway after waterlogging raised concerns about its structural safety.South Gujarat also witnessed extensive infrastructure damage. In Navsari district, the Bilimora-Amalsad road developed a five-foot-wide crater near the Ambika river bridge approach after soil erosion beneath the surface caused the road to cave in. The bridge was temporarily closed before emergency repairs restored traffic.
National highway blocked
On NH-48 near Dhamdachi in Valsad, potholes slowed traffic and damaged vehicles, prompting immediate repair work by NHAI.A section of the Kim-Bharuch expressway near Piludra collapsed during heavy rain when a concrete bridge slab caved in, leaving an 8-foot-deep hole with exposed steel reinforcement. Several vehicles crashed into the damaged section before authorities cordoned off the area. Elsewhere on the expressway near Kim crossroads, erosion washed away a concrete slope protection cover, exposing the highway embankment and triggering fears of further structural weakening.
