The state government on Saturday, 24 July, said that 76 people have died while 38 have been injured and 30 people have gone missing in floods that ravaged parts of Maharashtra, PTI reported.
However, giving a conflicting figure, the state's Minister of Relief and Rehabilitation Vijay Wadettiwar had earlier said that 136 people had died due to incessant downpour, flooding, and landslides in the state till the evening of Friday, 23 July, ANI reported.
In the background of the devastation caused by the deluge, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray left Mumbai to visit Mahad in Raigad on Saturday.
He arrived at the flood-hit Taliye village in Mahad on Saturday afternoon.
Raigad
On Saturday, Raigad's District Collector Nidhi Chaudhary said that 44 bodies were retrieved from the landslide debris in Raigad. Six regions in the district experienced landslides, injuring 35 people and resulting in rescue operations, which are still ongoing.
"According to officials and staff present at the spot, around 50 more people are feared trapped under the debris," Chaudhary said, news agency ANI reported.
JJ Hospital Medical Superintendent said, "So far eight patients have arrived at JJ Hospital. All of them are stable."
Maharashtra Minister Eknath Shinde also visited Tilaye village in Raigad following the landslides.
He said, "Families of the deceased will receive Rs 5 lakhs' compensation while injured will be treated by the administration. Rehabilitation work in the affected areas to be carried out as well," Times of India reported.
Pune & Goa
Goa experienced widespread devastation as around a thousand houses were damaged and hundreds of people were evacuated from the state's low-lying parts, PTI reported.
One person has reportedly died in the deluge.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant informed that floods had caused immense destruction in the talukas of Sattari, Bicholim, Ponda, Dharbandora, Bardez, and Pernem.
Eighty-eight houses were damaged in Pernem, while the overflowing Chapora rived caused damage to 167 houses in Bardez. Nine people were evacuated.
In Bicholim taluka, Valvanti and Chapora rivers were overflowing due to which 164 houses were damaged and 40 people were rescued, the state minister said.
Meanwhile, 130 houses suffered destruction and over 65 people had to be evacuated from the Sattari taluka as Valvanti and Mahadayi rivers surpassed their danger marks.
People were also stranded in Ponda taluka's Waghurme village, with rescue operations underway.
Damages were also reported in South Goa's Salcette, Dharbandora, and Canacona taluka.
In Dharbandora, over 100 people were evacuated.
In Pune division, 84,452 people have been moved to safer places for protection.
Ratnagiri
Meanwhile, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is carrying out rescue and relief operations in the flood-ravaged lower Chiplun area of the Ratnagiri district.
According to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), Chiplun, as well as Khed in Ratnagiri district, were completely submerged in rainwater, as floodwater washed over the Vashishti River bridge, IANS reported.
Satara
Casualties have also been reported due to excessive flooding, with at least 27 people submerging in floodwaters in Western Maharashtra's Satara district, PTI reported.
The district police had earlier informed that 20 people were feared to be trapped under debris after landslides ravaged eight houses in the villages of Ambeghar and Mirgaon in Satara’s Patan tehsil.
Flood Rescue Teams Deployed
Amid adverse weather conditions and widespread inundation in affected areas, civil authorities have requested the deployment of seven Naval Flood Rescue Teams in Ratnagiri and Raigad districts.
A Seaking 42-C Helicopter from Mumbai has been deployed for aerial reconnaissance at Poladpur, Raigad and one ALH helo from Goa has been positioned at Ratnagiri for relief and rescue, ANI reported.
In addition to helicopters, the Indian Air Force has deployed one C-17 Globemaster and two C-130 Super Hercules to ferry 170 personnel and 21 tonnes of load for NDRF from Bhubaneswar to Pune, Ratnagiri, and Goa in preparation for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief.
Easter districts of Gondia and Chandrapur have also recorded deaths, though no official toll has been reported yet.
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC from Sangli, Sadashiv Khot, also demanded a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for those who lost their houses in floods and Rs 1 lakh each for fruit farmers.
On Saturday, vehicular movement was still barred on the Kolhapur Highway due to flooding, leaving a large number of goods stranded, ANI reported.
Meanwhile, the Pune-Bengaluru Highway near Tandulwadi village in Sangli district was flooded due to the downpour.
However, the services on the Konkan railway route were restored following their suspension on Friday.
Red Alert Issued in 6 Maharashtra Districts
A 24-hour red alert was issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday in six districts of Maharashtra.
It was issued for the districts of Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg in coastal Konkan and also for Pune, Satara, and Kolhapur in Western Maharashtra, PTI reported.
The forecast predicted "extremely heavy" rainfall and recommended preventive actions.
Ratnagiri and Satara are likely to be on red alert on Saturday as well. However, as per the IMD, the showers will begin to subside drastically on Sunday.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI and Times of India)
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