Even as Mumbai saw extremely heavy rain on Wednesday leading to widespread damage, a red alert has been issued in several parts of the State.
It has been forecasted that Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Satara, Raigad, Thane and Palghar will see extremely heavy rain at isolated places till Thursday.
Alerts were also issued in western Maharashtra’s Kolhapur and Sangli district on Wednesday as levels of Panchganga, Warna and Krishna rivers rose due to heavy rain, officials said.
Heavy showers in Kolhapur led to rising river water levels causing as many as 90 barrages in the district to be submerged. With the IMD forecasting heavy rain for Kolhapur, Satara and the ghat areas of Pune till August 7, the Kolhapur district authorities have ordered the immediate evacuation of citizens from low-lying areas as a precautionary measure.
“The district has been receiving very heavy rains continuously for the last two days. Relentless downpour has been witnessed not just in the catchment areas, but also in areas around them, which have received intense showers ranging between 150-200 mm. This has led to a sharp rise in river water levels,” said District Collector Daulat Desai.
Dangerous waters
The water level of the Panchganga River near Rajaram Bridge was nudging the ‘alert mark’, said authorities. “The river is flowing at 35 ft. near the Rajaram Bridge. The ‘alert mark’ is 39 ft. and the danger mark is 43 ft. It is very likely that the waters will near the danger level by tomorrow morning,” Mr. Desai said.
In this vein, the Collector said that he had directed the residents of low-lying areas near the Panchganga River, especially those living in Karvir taluk to evacuate immediately to safer areas with their livestock. “Given the experience of last year’s terrible deluge, all residents living around the Panchganga River must move immediately to safer zones along with their livestock. This particularly applies to people living in the villages of Chikhali and Ambewadi which are at high-risk,” he said.
Karvir and Gaganbawda tehsils were the worst-hit in last year’s deluge which ravaged Kolhapur, Sangli and parts of Satara.
The Sangli district administration also asked people living on the banks of the Krishna and Warna rivers to stay alert. “Due to heavy rains in the region, their water level is increasing,” an official said.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has sent two teams to Kolhapur as a preemptive measure. “Two more teams are moving there,” said an NDRF official.
Pune district, too, witnessed robust showers throughout the day, causing the water stocks in the district’s four major dams — Khadakwasla, Panshet, Varasgaon and Temghar — to rise sharply. The collective water stock in the four dams has surged to nearly 10 thousand million cubic feet (TMCft) of the cumulative capacity of 29.15 TMCft.
With inputs from PTI
