Flood-like situation in several places

Monsoon havoc: Maharashtra accounts for 6 more rain deaths

Several parts of Maharashtra are reeling under a flood-like situation as heavy downpour continued on Tuesday, even as six more rain-related deaths were reported, taking the toll to 16 in four days.

Going by the forecast of the Mumbai-based Regional Meteorological Observatory of the IMD, there appears to be no let-up in rain and it is going to continue for the next couple of days.

“Rain/thundershowers are likely to occur at many places over Konkan-Goa, a few places over Madhya Maharashtra, at isolated places over Marathwada and Gujarat,” the weathermen said in its outlook till Saturday.

The Wainganga river, which flows along the border of Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts in Vidarbha region, swelled and a boat carrying 10 people capsized. While eight of them were rescued, two went missing and the chances of their survival are bleak.

Search for them is on. More than 200 villages and hamlets in the twin districts are cut-off due to inundation. Communication systems have broken down and power supply has been stopped as a precautionary measure.

In Nandurbar, more than 30 houses were damaged due to heavy rain. A report from Pune said that Khadakwasla dam, that supplies drinking water to the city, was full to the brim and excess water was released to the Mula river. On the other hand, in Pune’s Malshej Ghats, the debris from the landslide was removed.

In Nashik’s Niphad taluka, three fishermen were stranded near a small river while fishing. In another case, six fishermen were rescued from an isolated place near Palkhed dam in Nashik district, as they found themselves on an island as water was released.

Parts of Rajapur town in Ratnagiri and Kharephatan in Sindhudurg in the coastal Konkan belt continue to be in knee-deep water for the second day. Kolhapur district too received heavy rainfall and the road traffic between Kolhapur-Goa was badly affected as water level rose along the roads. Hatnur dam at Bhusawal too received good rainfall and all the gates had to be opened to release water.