Rains flood Maharashtra's Chiplun town

Chiplun town and neighbouring areas were flooded as the twin South Konkan districts of Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg continued to receive heavy rains on Thursday.

The flooding in Chiplun was worse than the mega floods of 2005.

The Mumbai-Goa road traffic and the Konkan Railway train services were badly affected. Chiplun is the business and industrial hub of the South Konkan belt of Maharashtra.

NDRF teams from Pune have been rushed while a SDRF team has moved form Kolhapur even as rescue teams are being sent to Chiplun.

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray spoke to Ratnagiri Collector Dr BN Patil and Superintendent of Police Dr Mohan Kumar Garg and reviewed the situation.

The Vaishasti river is overflowing at several places inundating the town and neighbouring villages.

Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg MP and senior Shiv Sena MLA Vinayak Raut spoke to Thackeray and requested him to mobilise the Indian Coast Guard for rescue of stranded people. "The flooding is very severe," said Raut.

Three-term MLA form Guhagar and Shiv Sena leader Bhaskar Jadhav said that the geography of Chiplun is like a saucer and there is no escape route for water. "The adminstration is doing whatever possible," he said.

Several ground and first floor flats were flooded with rain water.

Ratnagiri's Guadian Minister Anil Parab said he himself is trying to reach Chiplun town. "The Vashistha river is flooded," he said.