Monsoon Fury, Railway Lapses, and Bomb Threats Shake Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad is navigating a turbulent week: monsoon storms have returned with force, flooding major city corridors and straining civic infrastructure, while a disturbing railway maintenance failure and a wave of bomb threat emails to schools and courts have deepened public anxiety across the city and neighboring Gandhinagar.

🤝 Ahmedabad Hit by Second Day of Heavy Rain as Three Weather Systems Batter Gujarat Talukas

Intense thunderstorms battered Ahmedabad for the second consecutive day on Sunday, September 13, as three simultaneous active weather systems triggered widespread rainfall across Gujarat. Storm clouds turned the city skies pitch black early in the day, sharply cutting visibility before heavy downpours lashed major road corridors. The India Meteorological Department issued a yellow alert for lightning and strong gusty winds across multiple Gujarat districts. Waterlogging was reported at several city areas including Ghatlodia, Thaltej, Science City Road, and Saijpur, prompting the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to deploy teams to clear accumulated water and restore movement. The Mithakhali underpass was closed at 4:40 PM as a safety precaution. While commuters and residents faced disruption across the city, the rains delivered critical relief to farmers and kharif crops in central and southern Gujarat talukas that had been experiencing a prolonged dry spell earlier in the season. Gujarat Samachar English reported that the civic response was swift, with AMC teams taking to waterlogged streets within hours. Authorities continued to monitor forecast conditions as the IMD alert warned of continued lightning risk and gusty winds across the region through the remainder of the day and into the following week. [3]

🤝 Rainwater Pours Into Gujarat Mail B1 Coach Mid-Journey; Passengers Demand Western Railway Accountability

Passengers aboard train 12902, the Gujarat Mail operating on the Ahmedabad-to-Mumbai Dadar route, endured a miserable journey on the night of September 12 after rainwater seeped through the roof of the B1 sleeper coach. A video of the incident spread rapidly on social media, showing water dripping steadily from the coach ceiling and pooling on passenger seats and in the aisle, leaving travelers unable to use large sections of the carriage. The incident sparked immediate public backlash against Western Railway over maintenance standards for one of India's most prominent intercity trains—a service used extensively by Gujarati families traveling between Ahmedabad and Mumbai for business, healthcare, and family visits. Passengers demanded a formal explanation and corrective action from Western Railway, pointing specifically to apparent failures in the roof waterproofing arrangements that are supposed to be inspected before each monsoon season. Gujarat Samachar English reported that the viral video prompted calls for accountability and renewed questions about inspection protocols for premium trains during the monsoon period. The B1 coach serves sleeper-class passengers who book months in advance for one of Gujarat's busiest railway routes, making the inconvenience and safety concerns especially acute for regular travelers on this corridor. [6]

🗳️ Bomb Threat Emails Trigger School Evacuations and Court Lockdowns Across Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar

Panic swept through Ahmedabad on Thursday, September 10, after several prominent schools and a court complex received emails threatening to blow up their premises with RDX explosives. The threatening emails, mentioning Khalistan, targeted Delhi Public School in Bopal, Udgam School for Children in Thaltej, and Zydus School in Gota, as well as the Gandhinagar Metropolitan Court complex. Emails arrived while students were in class, prompting school managements to immediately alert the Ahmedabad Crime Branch, local police, and the city's cyber cell. Students were evacuated quickly and sent home safely as bomb disposal squads conducted extensive security checks of all affected premises. The incidents follow a pattern of similar threats targeting Gujarat courts in recent weeks that had previously resulted in arrests. Education authorities issued a city-wide vigilance alert to all schools in Ahmedabad in response to the wave of threats. Gujarat Samachar English reported that law enforcement was treating the threats with full seriousness, deploying security personnel and forensic cyber teams to trace the source of the emails. The repeated nature of similar threats targeting Gujarat's educational and judicial institutions has intensified public anxiety, and authorities pledged to pursue perpetrators through both local policing and national cybercrime investigation networks. [7]

Sources: [3] GujaratSamachar English · [6] GujaratSamachar English · [7] GujaratSamachar English