— Photo: PTI

FLOOD HAVOC: Army personnel rescue stranded residents at Juhapura in Ahmedabad after water from the Sabarmati river entered the area on Sunday.

AHMEDABAD: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has resumed gas production at its Hajira plant near Surat after closure of 12 days due to the unprecedented floods in the Tapi river, following heavy discharge of water from the Ukai dam on August 7.

According to the ONGC executive director, P. K. Johari, six million cubic metres of gas were produced in the first phase on Saturday evening. He said it would take sometime before the plant started functioning normally. Gas supply was resumed to its consumers in Hajira and elsewhere in the country, including to Reliance and Essar.

Besides the major units in Hajira, about 80 other industrial consumers in the northern, western and central parts of the country are also dependent on the ONGC's gas supply from Hajira.

The ONGC estimated its loss at over Rs. 20 crore a day during the 12 days of closure. The Reliance had to close down two of its petrochemical units in Hajira and the IPCL outlet in Vadodara while Essar reduced its steel production by half and power generation from 600 MW to 100 MW due to fuel shortage.

Flood situation eases

To put activities back on track after the floods, the ONGC employed about 1,000 contract labourers, in addition to its own staff, to dewater the plant .

Five columns of Army personnel are still engaged in rescue operations in central and north Gujarat even as the flood situation improved marginally on Sunday with the reduction in water discharge from the major dams.

According to an official spokesman of the Government, the discharge from the Kadana dam in the Mahi river, which was nine lakh cusecs on Saturday night, was reduced to about three lakh cusecs on Sunday afternoon while the discharge from the Dharoi dam was cut down by about half.

With the heavy rain warning extended till Monday and rainfall continuing in the upper catchment areas of the major dams, the authorities have not withdrawn the high alert caution for the 90 major and medium dams and also asked the 84,000 odd people evacuated from the 11 affected districts to stay put in the relief camps.

While Ahmedabad city was spared of water-logging following reduction in water discharge from the Dharoi dam, people in Dholka town and villages further downstream were flooded by the Sabarmati waters. The spokesman said the Army airlifted 34 people near the Vautha village.

The alert in the downstream of the Sardar Sarovar dam also remained in force as the Narmada level stood at 123 metres.

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