GUJARAT, INDIA, July 11, 2007: In the holy town of Gadhada sanctified by Bhagwan Swaminarayan, the beginning of this year’s monsoon was marked by widespread destruction wrought by a devastating flood of the holy Ghela River. The drizzling rains of the early morning hours of July 1 became a torrential downpour by 7:00 am. As the waters of Gadhada’s surrounding areas began to fill the river, the heavy rains upriver unleashed a surge that began transforming the Ghelariver flow into a flood. By noon, the Ghela overflowed Rama Ghat and the river waters began to inundate the roads, making transportation impossible. By 3:00 pm, the flood waters caused a complete power outage in the town. Mobile phone towers also failed causing a complete communications blackout. The unexpected deluge put the residents of the low-lying areas in a precarious situation.
From 9:00 pm July 1 until 3:00 am July 2 the heavens opened up and unleashed torrential rains. Perhaps for the first time in living memory, the townspeople witnessed the Ghela River flowing up to 15 ft. above its banks. 16 inches of unbroken rains within 20 hours caused terrible devastation around the town. As a result of the deluge, around 150 homes were destroyed. As approximately 600 townspeople became homeless, about 40 sadhus and 100 volunteers from the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, Gadhada, rushed to their aid, providing food and shelter to hundreds in this sacred town.