State heaves a sigh of relief as cyclone fails to keep date

The cyclonic storm centred around 150 kms south of the Veraval coast in the Arabian sea dissolved even before hitting the Gujarat coast late on Monday.

This, however, came as a blessing in disguise for coastal areas of the city, which received mild to heavy showers on Tuesday.

Several coastal districts of the state are expected to receive rains over the next 24 hours, meteorological department here said.

The state government had taken elaborate precautionary measures after the department had forecast that the cyclone would hit the Gujarat coast on Monday.

All major infrastructure installations along coastal areas were put on high alert.

"The cyclone dissolved in mid-sea. So no area of Gujarat was hit by the cyclone. As a result, the very heavy rainfall accompanied by winds also did not lash the state. Coastal areas of the state will, however, continue to receive mild to heavy showers over the next 24 hours," said R K Bakliwal, director, Ahmedabad Meteorological Centre.

However, loss to goods and vegetables has been reported from several areas of Saurashtra as a result of incessant rains over the past three days.

Several dams and rivulets in the Saurashtra region have been filled because of the rains, providing relief from heat.

The water level in the Bhadar dam, the main water source for Rajkot residents, has risen by 12.10 feet.

This is expected to provide water to the city for seven months.

"Now there will not be any scarcity of water in Rajkot," said mayor Manshukh Chavda.

Cotton farmers of Saurashtra, however, faced heavy losses as the rains spoiled harvested cotton that farmers stored in open fields.

Farmers' organisations said around three to four lakh bags of cotton have been spoiled.

Stock of wheat, onion, garlic and other vegetables stored in open ground in the Rajkot Marketing Yard have also been spoilt due to the rains.

Harish Vadodariya, secretary of the Rajkot Marketing Yard, said produce worth around Rs 2.50 lakh has been damaged.

At the Gondal marketing yard, crop stored on open ground has been affected and the yard incurred losses worth lakhs of rupees.

"We are assessing the exact loss. The rains have affected several crops and other produce stored in the open," said Harshadbhai, office superintendent, Gondal Marketing yard.

The rains have affected mangoes, the main crop of Junagadh district.

Rains spoil mangoes and as a result, the price of 10 kgs of mangoes is likely to fall by around Rs 45, sources said.

In Gir and surrounding areas, mango trees are planted over 3,500 hectares, cultivating mangoes worth up to Rs five crore a year.

"At present, raw plucked mangoes are artificially ripened with the help of chemicals. Naturally ripened mangoes, which are on the trees, will not be affected either. The rains will be beneficial to the crop," said R K Kathrotia, an official of Rajkot district gardening department.