Monsoon rains kill 124 Indians

Relief in India's flood-hit western Gujarat state gathered pace yesterday during a lull in heavy rains that have killed 124 people and affected 25 million, as the weather office predicted a new downpour in the next two days.

Incessant that had continued uninterrupted for more than 100 hours ceased yesterday in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's commercial capital, and the city of Baroda, 100km south of here, residents said.

Taking of the lull, relief and rescue teams were rushing food, water, medicines and other essentials to the hundreds of thousands of people marooned by flood waters, a state revenue department official said.

Indian force helicopters also began air-dropping food packets to the thousands cut off by the swirling waters, the official said.

Most roads were still submerged and traffic across the state was still halted, he said.

About medical teams were on standby to travel to flood affected areas and help prevent an outbreak of disease, Gujarat Health Commissioner Amarjeet Singh told the Press Trust of India news agency.

The medical teams will swing into action as soon as the waters begin to recede, he said.

The death toll rose steadily in the past week as heavy rains swelled rivers and damaged homes and businesses. An industry lobby group estimated the damage at 100 billion rupees (US$2.32 billion) in one of the most industrialized states in the country.

Some the deaths occurred when the victims were washed away by strong currents after dams overflowed, while others were crushed when portions of buildings collapsed or were buried in mudslides, officials said.

Some villages and 31 urban centers in Gujarat were hit by power cuts as rains pounded the state non-stop for four days straight, Gujarat state revenue minister, Kaushik Patel, told reporters Saturday.

He added that 39 of Gujarat's 187 large and medium-size dams are overflowing.

The local weather office has forecast "heavy to very heavy rainfall" over western and central India, including Gujarat, in the next 36 to 48 hours, according to a statement on its Web site.

Officials also trying to restore transport services that were severely affected as the floods damaged roads and rail tracks, leaving hundreds of passengers marooned on railway platforms.

A General Motors auto plant and a major factory of the Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation have been closed, officials said while many of the state's textile and light manufacturing units have been flooded or closed by power cuts, an industry lobby group official said.

Farmers, and glass and drug makers were also severely affected, the official said.

Most of India is currently in the grip of monsoon rains which sweep the country from June to September.

In many places, the monsoon rain volumes are below average, but in Gujarat the torrent has caused havoc.