GANDHINAGAR: Even before Surat has recovered from last week's floods, it is facing a fresh threat with a low pressure system advancing towards the State.

The weather bureau has issued a warning for "heavy to very heavy rainfall" in south and north Gujarat in the next 48 hours. It said the system from the Bay of Bengal, which had centred over Madhya Pradesh, was advancing in a west-northwest direction towards south Gujarat. "Under its impact heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in south and north Gujarat regions in the next 48 hours," it said.

Precautionary measure

A high alert has again been issued for 90 medium and major dams in the State already at full reservoir level.

As a precautionary measure, about two lakh cusecs of water was released from the Ukai dam on the Tapi river in south Gujarat and about 10,000 cusecs from the Dharoi dam on the Sabarmati in north Gujarat, even as only 66 talukas received moderate rainfall on Friday.

The Congress criticised the State Government's decision to appoint a judicial inquiry commission into the Surat floods to be constituted by the retired judge of the Gujarat High Court, Sugnaben Bhatt and the retired secretary of the Narmada department, R. D. Soni. The commission will investigate all aspects of the Surat floods and suggest measures to prevent such calamities.

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