Video Editor: Sandeep Suman
The flood situation following incessant rains in western Maharashtra continued to remain grim on Thursday, 8 August. So far, over 1.32 lakh people have been affected, news agency PTI reported.
At least 16 deaths in rain and flood-related incidents have been reported from Maharashtra in the last seven days.
So if the catchment areas of dams receive more rain, the possibility of more floods cannot be ruled out," he said.
Besides, 67 lakh hectares worth agricultural land and 3,890 houses have also been destroyed so far.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an “extremely heavy rain” warning for Pune, Satara and Kolhapur districts for Thursday. Light rains were forecast for Sangli.
Five rescue teams of the Navy were mobilised to provide assistance to those affected by heavy rains in Kolhapur and Sangli, meanwhile 22 teams of the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) are involved in rescue operations in affected areas, reports PTI. 5 More teams have been flown in from Punjab on Thursday, according to ANI.
Over 53,000 people were evacuated in Sangli, 51,000 in Kolhapur and 13,000 in Pune till Wednesday, Pune divisional commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar told PTI.
“The road communication between Sangli and Kolhapur and between Kolhapur and Belgaum (in Karnataka) has been affected," he said. People should avoid traveling on the Mumbai-Bengaluru national highway (NH 4), he added.
Kolhapur and Sangli districts have been the worst hit by heavy rains in western Maharashtra in the past few days. In Sangli, water entered the jail, forcing the administration to shift the inmates upstairs.
“All dams in the region are overflowing and the MeT department has predicted continuous rains for next few days,” an official told PTI.
The rescue teams with diving equipment were flown from the INS Hansa Naval air station in Goa to the Kolhapur airfield on Wednesday morning, a defence spokesperson told PTI.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
Karnataka Provides Relief
News agency PTI reported that Karnataka has agreed to release five lakh cusecs water from Almatti dam, which will help to bring down the water level, to help affected people in Kolhapur and Sangli districts.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Thursday, conducted an aerial survey to review the flood situation. He has cancelled his programmes as part of the Maha Janadesh Yatra ahead of Assembly elections.
In a press conference addressed by Fadnavis in Kolhapur, he declared Rs 5 Lakh compensation to the families of the deceased in the floods.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)