Heavy rainfall lashed Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on Saturday, causing significant disruption in the city. Visuals showed the wrath of the rain, with trees uprooted and falling onto parked cars. Several busy roads were battling waterlogging due to the downpour, leading to the closure of two underpasses in the city. Akhbarnagar and Mithakhali underpasses were closed due to heavy rainfall, while four gates of the Vasna barrage were opened. Areas including Ahmedabad SG Highway, Pakwan, Chandkheda, Sarkhej, Chanakyapuri, Satellite, and Vejalpur witnessed heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a Red Alert for extremely heavy rainfall in Ahmedabad until June 30th. According to IMD data, the city has recorded an average of 2.84 inches of rainfall this season.
The IMD has also highlighted the rapid advancement of the monsoon across India. The department stated that the monsoon has advanced in Eastern Uttar Pradesh and is expected to cover Western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana in the next 2-3 days. In anticipation of heavy rainfall, an orange alert has been issued for Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and East Rajasthan. The IMD forecast predicts heavy rain across central India. Intense spells of rain, accompanied by isolated thunderstorms, cloud-to-ground lightning, and gusty winds, are expected in Punjab and adjoining Himachal Pradesh, southwest and adjoining extreme northwest Madhya Pradesh, east Uttar Pradesh and adjoining extreme north Chhattisgarh, southeast Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, south Gujarat, south Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, south Karnataka, north Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, and Meghalaya.
In anticipation of the upcoming Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra on July 7th, Gujarat Police conducted foot patrolling in Ahmedabad on Saturday morning to review security arrangements.
