Maharashtra appoints committee to probe into Sangli, Kolhapur floods

PUNE: The Maharashtra government appointed a 10 member committee on Friday to investigate into the causes of the recent floods in Sangli and Kolhapur districts and

PUNE: The Maharashtra government appointed a 10 member committee on Friday to investigate into the causes of the recent floods in Sangli and Kolhapur districts and give recommendations for better management in the future.

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The committee’s scope of investigations includes identification of the precise reasons for the recent flooding in western Maharashtra, including backwater effect of Almatti dam in Karnataka, examination and recommendations of modern techniques, including satellite imagery, to understand inflow and outflow from dams and rivers, and recommendations on the measures necessary to control the flooding and water logging.

The committee has been given three months to submit its report with a November 30 deadline.

Appointed by the state irrigation department under the directives of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, it will be headed by former irrigation department secretary Nandkumar Wadnere.

Other members are Vinay Kulkarni of Maharashtra Water Regulatory Authority, Sanjay Ghanekar, secretary, Water resources department, Ravi Sinha (IIT, Mumbai), Nityanant Roy, Central Water Commission, besides officials from India Meteorological Department and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. All data, facilities and logistics would be provided to the committee by the chief engineer of the irrigation department, Pune.

Sangli and Kolhapur districts in particular were worst affected by floods and water logging in the first week of August causing widespread destruction and economic loss including loss of human and animal life.