17 killed as rain pounds Pune

At least 17 people were killed and six reported missing in Pune as flooding caused by torrential rains plunged Maharashtra’s cultural capital into chaos on Thursday.

Nearly 15,000 people, including some stuck on rooftops and trees, were rescued from the city and other parts of the district. Six people were killed in a wall collapse at Sahakar Nagar; some are still feared trapped.

Four were swept away in flash floods in Khed-Shivpur village on the Mumbai-Bengalaru highway. At least two were found dead inside cars.

Nashik reported one casualty after an intense spell of heavy showers. Reports from Jalgaon said five people were killed. Many vehicles were either washed away or submerged in waterlogged areas. The Pune-Satara highway was hit by landslides.

More than 2,000 cattle, sheep and small animals were washed away in flood waters in Pune district.

While road transport was severely affected, there was no impact on the movement of trains. There was no major disruption in flight services either.

Parts of Pune city and the district received more than 100 to 150 mm rainfall. Pune Collector Naval Kishore Ram declared a holiday on Thursday and Friday.

According to reports, the army rescued 300 people, including some stranded on rooftops and trees, from Solapur road area. In Pune, waterlogging was reported from Sinhgad, Dhanakwadi, Balajinagar, Ambegaon, Sahakar Nagar, Parvati, Kolhewadi and Kirkatwadi. Several people took shelter on upper floors after water gushed into ground-floor flats.

A water discharge of 13,000 cusecs is scheduled from Khadakwasla dam near the city and the civic administration has so far evacuated over 500 people from low-lying areas. The discharge from Nazare dam located in Saswad was increased to 85,000 cusecs. The state government is closely monitoring the dam discharge.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil are supervising rescue and relief operations. Fadnavis spoke to Baramati MLA and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and assured him of all help from the state administration.

Teams of the Pune Municipal Corporation and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been mobilised.