With the tropical cyclone Tauktae set to cross the Gujarat coast and make a landfall as an 'extremely severe cyclonic storm' by Monday night, the state government has shifted over 1.5 lakh people to safer places and mobilised disaster response teams.
An estimated 1.5 lakh people are being shifted from low-lying coastal areas in Gujarat while 54 teams of the NDRF and SDRF remained deployed on Sunday in view of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) warning that the very severe cyclonic storm Tauktae will reach the state coast on Monday evening and cross it on early Tuesday morning.
Rain or thundershowers have also been predicted in south interior Karnataka and at a few places over Coastal Karnataka and North interior Karnataka.
While the BJP says it is confident Dalits will vote for it in the state assembly polls due this year-end, the Congress says it is paying attention to seats with 10 per cent or more Dalit population.
Incessant showers caused landslides and floods in various parts of the country leaving at least 17 people dead on Wednesday while thousands more were forced to move to safety as rivers swelled and water reservoirs filled up fast.
An average 59.24 per cent voter turnout was recorded as of 5 pm on Thursday across 89 assembly seats in the first phase of Gujarat elections, officials said.
Of the 137 candidates having criminal records, 78 candidates are facing serious cases such as murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and rape.
Cyclone 'Biparjoy' has an extensive damaging potential and it is likely to impact Kutch, Devbhoomi Dwarka and Jamnagar districts of Gujarat the most, the India meteorological department said on Tuesday.
Here's a recap of the events from the past 24 hours.
The Dalits are protesting against the brutal assault on fellow community members on July 11 for allegedly skinning a cow in Una in Gir-Somnath district.
Arvind Kejriwal exhorted all community members to unite in the fight against Gujarat BJP's "oppressive" regime.
According to organisers, though conversions are carried out every year on Vijaya Dashmi, this year the numbers were high on account of the Una Dalit flogging incident.
The decision to stay away from the work by the community members has left the administration harried
The National Disaster Response Force, the Air Force and teams of other agencies have been pressed into service and they have so far rescued 214 stranded people. Over 6,200 people in the region have been shifted to safer places. Ten state highways and many roads have also been damaged.
Even as Tauktae's intensity weakened, it left behind a trail of destruction with as many as 13 people losing their lives in different parts of Gujarat, including Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Patan, Amreli and Valsad, officials said.
Meanwhile, an independent MLA in Gujarat has declared his support to the BJP.
The national capital received heavy precipitation resulting in waterlogging on several roads and traffic jams at various intersections.
Get Ahead reader Bienu Vaghela, with husband and daughter in tow, spent several chilly nights and hot, delicious meals in the Rann of Kutch.
On the intervening night of September 22-23, 2012, three Dalit youths were killed when police opened fire to disperse a violent mob to control a clash between Dalits and OBC Bharwad community members at Thangadh town in Surendranagar district.
If the Anandiben Patel administration was shaken by the Patidar agitation, the Vijay Rupani government would have to deal with the Jignesh Mevani-led Dalit movement.
Muslim community members came in large numbers to support the Dalit community in their campaign.
While other parliamentarians were locked into heated debates over the Gujarat Dalits' protests, Rahul could be seen taking a power nap.
The Congress considers the community to be in its fold without bothering about its representation or welfare while the BJP assumes that the Muslims would not vote for its candidates, says Shafeeq Rahman.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force started landing in Gujarat with the help of the Indian Air Force to undertake preventive evacuation of people living on the west coast, an IAF official said.
Enraged community members took out rallies in towns and cities, blocking roads, damaging buses.
Hemant Shivsaran lists the number of projects the Modi government has announced since August to woo Gujarat voters.
Gale-force winds, heavy rainfall and high tidal waves swept the coastal belt of Kerala, Karnataka and Goa as Cyclone Tauktae hurtled northwards towards Gujarat on Sunday, leaving four people dead in Karnataka and two in Goa, damaging hundreds of houses, uprooting electricity poles and trees and forcing evacuation.
Dalit leaders ask community members to give up disposing dead cattle to 'send a strong message' to the Gujarat government.
This classification of districts is to be followed by states and union terrotories till a week post May 3, when the second phase of lockdown will end, for containment operations.
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