Twelve gates of the Manjara dam were closed early Wednesday morning, a day after heavy water discharge from the reservoir following heavy rains led to flooding in some villages of Beed, Latur and Osmanabad districts in Marathwada region of Maharashtra, officials said.
With the closure of 12 out of the total 18 gates of the dam at 4 am, the water discharge came down to 18,747 cusec (cubic metre per second) as against the outflow of 70,845 cusec on Tuesday, that caused inundation in several downstream villages, a release from the irrigation department said.
Currently, six gates of the dam are open for water discharge, an irrigation department official said.
In the last two days, at least 13 people died in heavy showers, floods and lightning in parts of Maharashtra with the Marathwada region bearing the major brunt of rain fury, while more than 560 people were rescued after the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was mobilised and helicopters were deployed, officials said on Tuesday.
Besides, more than 200 cattle perished or were washed away and a number of houses were damaged in torrential rains that lashed Marathwada over the last few days, causing havoc in a region which is considered a perennially drought-plagued area, they said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday forecast 'extremely heavy rains' at a few places in Marathwada in the next 24 hours.
The Marathwada region in central Maharashtra which faced the rain fury comprises eight districts — Aurangabad, Latur, Osmanabad, Parbhani, Nanded, Beed, Jalna and Hingoli.
