Heavy rain batters Western Maharashtra; 50,000 people evacuated

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, August 6

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Some 50,000 people have been taken to safer places as heavy and incessant rain in Western Maharashtra has led to floods, officials said on Tuesday.

Indian Navy and Air Force are currently involved in rescue operations in Kolhapur and Sangli—two of the worst affected districts.   Maharashtra police said they had closed down the National Highway between Kolhapur and Karnataka’s Belgaum because of flood at various stretches of the road.

The development comes after people travelling from Goa to Kolkapur tweeted photos buses that have been stranded in the morning since the small hours of Monday.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company has suspended power supply to most parts of Kolhapur as a precautionary measure.

Officials said flood waters entered residential and commercial buildings in Kolhapur city. The district collector’s office has also been flooded, officials said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday that he had asked his Karnataka counterpart BS Yediyurappa to increase water discharge from Almatti dam on Krishna river to help ease flood situation in Sangli. Maharashtra government officials said they were releasing water from the Ujjaini dam in Solapur after it neared the overflow mark.

District officials ordered schools closed for the second day today in Pune, Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts.