Commuters walk down a street amid rain, in Navi Mumbai.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: More than eight persons died as unseasonal rains continued to pound Maharashtra over the weekend leaving a trail of destruction - damaging houses, washing away standing crops and destroying agriculture fields.
Over the past two days, over 5,000 people have been rescued to safety.
The worst-affected was the Marathwada region - which is already facing agrarian distress.
Over the last couple of days, massive rainfall have been reported from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (earlier Aurangabad), Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Dharashiv (earlier Osmanabad) and Parbhani, Solapur in Western Maharashtra and Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar) and Jalgaon in North Maharashtra — where crops spread across several hectares were damaged.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is personally monitoring the situation and spoke to Director Collectors and overseeing the discharge of water from the dams, many of which are filled to the brim because of heavy rains.
“I have asked senior officers to be on the field. We are making proper arrangements for food, water in the relief camps. Ration kits are being distributed. We also ordered the immediate supply of fodder in some districts where there is a shortage,” Fadnavis told reporters in Chandrapur.
“Wherever the situation is critical, people are being evacuated,” said Fadnavis, who heads the BJP-led Maha Yuti government.
Due to around 150 mm of rainfall in the catchment and dam area of the Jayakwadi project, 1,25,000 cusecs of water is being released into the Godavari River, which may increase up to 1.5 lakh cusecs, officials said.
From the Majalgaon dam, 41,701 cusecs of water were being released, which has been reduced from the earlier 95,000 cusecs.
Amid heavy rainfall in Dharashiv, Solapur, Ahilyanagar and Beed districts, 75,000 cusecs of water were being discharged from the Sina Kolegaon dam, while in some places the discharge was 60,000 cusecs.
Additionally, 1 lakh cusecs of water were being released from the Ujani dam, the statement said.
Considering IMD’s prediction and prevailing situation in Maharashtra, NDRF teams are deployed in Solapur, Dharashiv, Beed and Latur.
NDRF teams in Pune, Mumbai, Thane and Nagpur are on alert for quick response.
According to the IMD forecast: “Thunderstorm accompanied with lightning, heavy to very heavy rain with extremely heavy at isolated places with gusty winds 40-50 kmph very likely to occur at isolated places in the districts of North Konkan and in ghats area of North Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada.”
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has sought an immediate blanket loan waiver and compensation of Rs 50,000 per hectare.