With several parts of Maharashtra being battered by incessantly heavy downpour, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the State government was fully alert to combat problems triggered by the rain.
He told mediapersons in Nagpur that some parts of the State had received average rainfall of 15 to 20 days in a matter of just two to three days.
“Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and their State counterpart, the SDRF, are being swiftly deployed as and when required as per the weather alerts being given to the administration by the Indian Meteorological Department regarding areas where heavy showers are forecasted,” he said.
75 still untraced in Irshalwadi
Meanwhile, as the rescue and rehabilitation operations at Irshalwadi village in Raigad district entered its fourth day on Sunday, more than 75 persons still remain untraced, said sources.
Till now, 27 bodies, including 12 women and four children, have been recovered from the debris of Thursday’s disaster.
At least 17 of 48 houses in the village were fully or partially buried under the landslide debris, officials said.
Athawale speaks to survivors
Among the politicians to visit the disaster spot, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale was the latest on Sunday to speak to the survivors of the tragedy.
Mr. Athawale suggested that the Maharashtra government draft a plan to relocate residents of hilly areas in the State on a priority basis.
On Saturday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had announced he would adopt the orphans of the landslip victims and bear their education and other expenses till they attained adulthood.
The Shrikant Shinde Foundation, an NGO run by the Chief Minister’s son and Kalyan MP Shrikant Shinde, would adopt the orphaned children and take over the responsibility of their education and other upbringing expenses, said Shinde camp leader Neelam Gorhe, who had visited the survivors on Saturday.
