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Gujarat has witnessed the worst-ever floods in the past 70 years, with over 270 people losing their lives, revenue minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said.

The government has shifted its machinery to flood-hit north Gujarat districts of Banaskantha and Patan.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani is stationed in Banaskantha to oversee relief operations, while his cabinet colleagues are fanned out in various taluks to supervise similar efforts.

Following Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh, Textiles and I&B Minister Smriti Irani, also the Rajya Sabha candidate from the state, visited Banaskantha with fellow nominee to the Upper House, Balwantsinh Rajput.

After meeting people affected by the flood, Smriti and Balwantsinh hit out at the Congress MLAs for neglecting their constituencies and escaping to Bengaluru in the wake of the catastrophe.

“Many people asked me as to where are my erstwhile friends. Some of them even smirked that they were enjoying in Bengaluru when their constituents needed them the most,” Balwantsinh told mediapersons.

The BJP is also organising rescue packets of utensils, slippers, sarees and wheat flour at its headquarters to be distributed among the flood victims.

The Congress, however, accused the ruling party of trying to gain political mileage by sealing the packets with its poll symbol. “This shows their insensitivity,” Congress leader Himanshu Patel said. The state government has raised the amount given to flood victims.

The money given to buy utensils has gone up from Rs 3,000 to Rs 7,000.

Rain continues

The state, meanwhile, has received 80.52% of its total annual rainfall this season.

North Gujarat recorded 121.42%, followed by Kutch at 83.93%, Saurashtra 78.73%, south Gujarat 64.75% and the East-Central region receiving the lowest rain at 64.41%.

Banaskantha tops the list of districts with maximum rainfall at 169.30%, followed by Morbi and Patan that received 150.26% and 142.72%, respectively.

Meanwhile, in Rajasthan, the army evacuated two pregnant women and a mother with a two-month-old baby from flood-hit Shivpura in Kota district. Later, one of the women delivered a baby girl.

Defence spokesperson

Lt Colonel Manish Ojha told DH, “As of now, the army has evacuated 880 people from flood-affected areas of the state.” On Monday, Lt General P S Rajeshwar, GOC of Konark Corps, which handles the relief and rescue work, reviewed the operations in the flood-hit districts.

The state is badly affected by floods as heavy rainfall continued, and the situation worsened after three dams started releasing water on Thursday.