Indian Army rescues 57 people from floodwaters in Gujarat’s Navsari

NAVSARI (Gujarat): The Indian Army launched intensive Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations on Saturday, successfully rescuing 57 people at Tata High School Ring Road in Navsari and safely evacuating 23 vulnerable civilians to a designated relief shelter at Sanduri Village in the Madhuban Dam area.

Responding to a distress call, Southern Command swiftly launched Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations at Sanduri Village in the Madhuban Dam area of Dadra and Nagar Haveli to assist flood-affected residents.

Working in close coordination with the civil administration, Indian Army teams along with civilian volunteers safely evacuated 23 vulnerable civilians to a designated relief shelter. Medical assistance was provided on-site, while essential rations and relief supplies were distributed to those remaining in the village. Operations remain in progress, with Indian Army teams continuing relief and rescue tasks across the affected areas.

On Saturday, the Ahmedabad District Police announced the closure of the Ahmedabad-Viramgam Highway due to excessive water flow amid heavy rainfall triggering flooding in Gujarat. The district police said that no vehicle movement between Sanand and Viramgam, in either direction, was safe due to the water flow on the highway.

“No vehicle from Sanand to Viramgam and Viramgam to Sanand is safe to ply over it. We are closing the entire highway for the time being,” the Ahmedabad District Police said.

ભારે વરસાદની વર્તમાન પરિસ્થિતને કારણે ધોળકાના ભગલપુર-લીલજપુર ખાતે આવેલા આંબેડકર કન્યા છાત્રાલયમાં તાત્કાલિક બચાવ કામગીરી હાથ ધરી 45 દીકરીઓ અને 2 સ્ટાફ સભ્યોને સુરક્ષિત સ્થળે ખસેડવામાં આવ્યા.#Ahmedabad #Dholka #RescueOperation #SDRF pic.twitter.com/BLlKbfzJgE

— Ahmedabad Collector (@CollectorAhd) July 24, 2026

Ahmedabad District Collector Bhavya Verma said the situation in the district was under control amid continuous rainfall, while noting that Dholka and Viramgam received the highest rainfall in the last 24 hours. Verma said authorities were maintaining extra vigilance in the two areas, adding that there had been no rainfall there in the last eight hours.

The Collector said the rescue operations were carried out with the help of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police and local administration.

“We have also deployed Indian Army and SDRF teams along the Ahmedabad-Rajkot Highway. The situation is currently under control, though waterlogging persists in several areas. All administrative and rescue teams are actively deployed on the ground. A red alert for heavy rainfall remains in effect for Ahmedabad district tomorrow as well…” he added.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi on Friday inspected flood-affected areas in Umargam of Valsad district as heavy rainfall continued to disrupt parts of the state.

During the visit, he inspected the flood-affected areas and conducted face-to-face meetings with citizens and appealed to them to stay away from rumours and follow the instructions issued by the administration.

Earlier this week, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued 67 people, including 25 women and 22 children, from floodwaters in Sarikhurad village of Gujarat’s Navsari district. According to the NDRF, the rescue operation was launched by the 6th Battalion after receiving information from the civil administration about villagers stranded due to flooding.

In Tapi district, the SDRF rescued 11 villagers stranded after floodwaters inundated Dhodiyawad Faliya in Dolvan taluka following extremely heavy rainfall. In Surat city, emergency services carried out round-the-clock rescue and relief operations.

More than 50 residents were rescued from Geeta Nagar in Limbayat, the Shitala Mata Mandir area in Varachha, and Krishna Nagar in Udhna. Overall, 2,244 affected residents from Surat city and 2,603 people from the district’s rural areas were rescued and shifted to relief centres and other safe locations. (ANI)