austraLasia 1184

Gujarat floods force closure of all schools; DB Dakor inundated

VADODARA (BARODA):  3rd July 2005 -- A week of non-stop torrential rain has closed all schools in the North-west Indian State of Gujarat and rendered thousands homeless.  In the boarding establishment at Don Bosco, Dakor, flood waters have already reached the halfway mark on the ground floor of the building, though the Rector, Fr Thomas Chalissery, reports that confreres and boarding students have all been moved to safety.
    In the city of Vadodara itself, the Salesian Community has been giving shelter to many of the poor from the slum areas that have been inundated.  But flood waters have now forced a breach in the wall of the Don Bosco campus there too.  There is a 30 foot breach in the Pratapura Dam on the outskirts of the city and the immediate future for the city, which has closed down, commercially, does not look good, faced with the swirling waters of the Vishwamitri river.  The meteorological department has forecast continuing heavy rains and further rising waters.  Parts of Vadodara and most areas of Anand and Kheda districts of South Gujarat are under 10-12 feet of water.
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