BJP govt in Gujarat failed in disaster management: Congress

Gujarat Congress today said BJP-led state government had failed to save lives of people after heavy rains and termed it a "disastrous government".
"This (state) government considers itself as a vibrant government, but they failed to understand the forecast of the meteorological department and also failed in terms of disaster management," Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Bharatsinh Solanki told reporters here.
"The state government ought to have taken steps to alert people after the meteorological department's forecast. The government should have cautioned the people of Amreli, Junagadh and Gir Somanth districts of Saurashtra by using disaster management system," Solanki said.

He said that the death toll could increase and go beyond 200, since many of the farms are submerged.
"There is no electricity, electric poles are uprooted, transportation is disrupted and there is a drinking water problem due to non-availability of electricity," he claimed.
Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat state assembly and former textile minister Shankarsinh Vaghela called the Gujarat state government a "disaster for the people".
"The calamity in Amreli and the rest of the state is a manmade calamity. If the state government had shown a bit of alertness, people's lives would have been saved. This BJP-led state government is itself a disaster for the public," Vaghela said.

The GPCC demanded Rs 5 lakh as compensation to families of each of the deceased people and said that two party delegations will visit the rain-affected Amreli district after which they will visit the chief secretary to expedite relief work.