Flood-hit Solapur braces for another spell

Solapur has received 602 mm of rainfall against the June to September average of 481 mm, 125% higher than average. In September alone, the district has received more than 175% of its average rainfall

SOLAPUR: The temporary shelter in Wadalbal, Solapur district, is eerily silent. Six days of merciless floods had finally eased, and just as the villagers planned to return home, Saturday’s forecast turned hope into despair – heavy rain through September 30.

Solapur, India. Sep 27, 2025 - An aerial view of the flood-affected Hatur village in the Solapur district shows the impact of heavy rains that have been battering Marathwada and Western Maharashtra. In just the past four days, eight people have lost their lives, and more than 150 villages have been affected by the intense downpour. Solapur, India. Sep 27, 2025 . (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Raju Shinde)

Pravin Ghaderao, 32, had water up to the roof in his kuchcha house next to his sugarcane field. “My home is full of mud. Jowar, rice and wheat stored in plastic trunks is rotting, as is the sugarcane in my fields. And there is no electricity in our village.”

Ghaderao is one among more than 5,000 people from over a dozen villages in the district, sheltering in schools and dharamshalas for a week, owing to relentless rains in Solapur district, and many other parts of the state.

Solapur has received 602 mm of rainfall against the June to September average of 481 mm, 125% higher than average. In September alone, the district has received more than 175% of its average rainfall.

Villages such as Wangi, Mangoli, Wadalbal, Rajur and Sindkhed had floodwaters rise to an alarming 15 feet. As residents were moved to temporary shelters, they watched their homes go under, and cattle and poultry perish.

Like Solapur South, other talukas such as Madha, Solapur North and Mohol are still reeling from the devastating downpour. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Army personnel have rescued 4,350 people from 58 villages since Monday. They are bracing for further rescue operations with more rain predicted.

The Solapur-Vajayapura highway, which connects Solapur to Karnataka, reopened after five days, after a swollen Sina River submerged parts of the 3-km stretch and swallowed a bridge near Wadalbal.

Paslewadi in Mohol taluka, is now a “ghost village”. Hundreds of electricity poles and dozens of transformers have been uprooted. Around 200 families have relocated to their neighbours’ homes a kilometre away.

“A couple of houses in our villages have collapsed, while others are filled with rotting crops and decomposing cattle and poultry. It will probably take a month for electricity to be restored and we can return,” said Pravin Pasale. He said women were sheltering in their neighbours’ homes, while the men were sleeping in open areas and on the roads at night.

Citizens in temporary sheds say they have received no government assistance even though disaster struck almost a week ago. Sangeeta Kamble, a resident of Wadalbal, said, “NGOs and social organisations have been providing us meals. There is no proper facility for toilets in this school. We have lost everything but have received no compensation yet.”

Rescued families from Paslewadi too are surviving on aid being provided by non-profits and traders in the taluka. “At least 200 of us are being served two meals a day with the help of donations, and this has been going on for the last eight days. Why has the government not reached us,” wonders Prabhakar Shirsat.

Abhijit Patil, deputy resident commissioner, said, “We have prepared a list of beneficiaries who are eligible for ex-gratia for their losses. Compensation is expected to be distributed from Monday.”

But there’s more grim news in store. Shaktisagar Dhole, district disaster management officer of Solapur, says, “There is an alert for some tehsils for the next four days owing to heavy rainfall and the discharge of water from the Sina dam. The discharge of over 2.5 lakh cusecs on Monday and Tuesday was the highest in the history of the region, and this led to flooding in parts of Solapur.”

Since heavy rainfall returned from midnight on Friday, the discharge from the Sina Kolegaon dam was increased to 80,150 cusecs from 50,000 cusecs on Saturday. “This may lead to some villages being submerged once again.”