Baramati, the bastion of Pawar family, gets its annual quota of rainfall in just May

Mumbai: Nestled in the Deccan Plateau, the bustling town of Baramati in Pune district received unprecedented rainfall in 50 years’ time in the month of May, leading to canal breaches, massive inundation of agricultural fields and crop losses.

Baramati, known for its agriculture, cooperatives, dairies, industries and development, is known as the bastion of the Pawar family.

Baramati has got almost equal to its annual rainfall in May; however, it has left a trail of destruction.

Because of heavy torrential rain, the Neera Left Canal breached on Sunday.

The Kara and Neera rivers have led to inundation at stretches of the Pune-Solapur Highway, affecting normal traffic.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is also the guardian minister of Pune district, hit the ground in the wee hours to review the situation.

Pune’s District Collector Jitendra Dudi and senior police officials accompanied Ajit Pawar.

“Some people are saying that in 100 years, in May itself, Baramati has not seen such rainfall… my mother is now 87, she told me she had never seen such rainfall in a single day in Baramati in the last 51 years,” said Ajit Pawar, an eight-time MLA from Baramati.

“Baramati and neighbouring areas of Indapur and Daund get around 14 inch rainfall annually… I was told by the Collector that Shetfalgadhe in Indapur itself received 13 inch rainfall,” he said.

Incidentally, Indapur, Daund and Baramati tehsils are generally considered rain-deficient.

Rainwater entered several homes in 70 villages in Indapur, as well as 150 homes in Baramati, forcing local authorities to immediately shift residents to safety, police and district officials said.

“In the wake of the heavy rains in Baramati taluka, a total of 8 citizens, 7 in the Katewadi area and 1 in Baramati city, have been safely rescued by the rescue teams,” Baramati Tehsildar Ganesh Shinde said.

Ajit Pawar asked the Pune district administration to conduct panchanamas of the losses so that help could be extended.

Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar, who is a Rajya Sabha member, too inspected the affected places. “The administration has taken immediate steps to rescue the citizens trapped in the flood and made arrangements for their accommodation in safe places. The work of providing the remaining assistance and assessing the damage is underway,” she said.

NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, who is an MP from Baramati and currently abroad as part of all-party delegations touring the world to explain India’s position on terrorism and Operation Sindoor, expressed concern over the situation.

“Baramati, Indapur, Daund and surrounding areas of Baramati Lok Sabha constituency have been receiving heavy rains for the past few days. This has affected the citizens of this area. The crops in this area have also been damaged to a great extent. It is necessary to immediately conduct a panchanama and provide assistance to the farmers,” she said.

The Palkhi Marg too faced inundation.

One SUV was swept away; however, there were no casualties.

Emergency response teams, including two units from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), have been deployed to the affected areas.

The agricultural sector, a mainstay of the region’s economy, has suffered extensive damage. Crops such as sugarcane, jowar, onion and vegetables have been destroyed.

The Malshiras tehsil in Solapur district too received heavy rainfall and seven persons had to be rescued to safety.

One of the worst-affected areas is Baramati's MIDC area, where three residential buildings – Sairang, Rishikesh, and Shri Samarth – suffered damages.