Vadodara reservoir develops breach; around 700 people shifted

Pratappura Sarovar reservoir developed a crack forcing the administration to move 600 to 700 residents of Bodindra village to a school on the city's outskirts which has been converted into a camp as a precautionary measure, said District Development Officer Rakesh Shankar.

Besides Bodindra, two more villages -- Pratappura and Jarod -- are located near the sarovar.

"It's likely that several more people from these villages will be shifted to safer places," Vadodara District Collector Vinod Rao told PTI.

The 70-year-old reservoir is a key source of water for the people of Vadodara. Water from the reservoir is diverted to a lake at Ajwa from where it is supplied to the city.

Shailesh Mistry, an engineer of Vadodara Municipal Corporation, said "experts and officials from VMC, Gujarat Engineering Research Institute (GERI) and Vadodara Irrigation Circle (VIC) are making efforts to prevent further breach."

Ashwini Kumar, Vadodara Municipal Commissioner, said the reservoir will have to be emptied for plugging the breach. District and civic officials are monitoring the situation.

Water from the sarovar is being diverted into Vishwamitri river leading to increase in its level, said Kumar.

However, rise in water level in Vishwamitri will not pose any problems to people staying on its banks, he said.

Jayesh Patel, a local Congress leader, said the water body has developed its third breach in the last ten years, and accused the civic body of neglecting its repair and maintenance.