Konkan disaster could’ve been averted?

Heavy downpour in Sahyadri ranges and discharge of water from Koyna and Kolkewadi dams flooded shallow rivers of coastal Konkan region leading to floods in Raigad and Ratnagiri districts

Heavy downpour in Sahyadri ranges and discharge of water from Koyna and Kolkewadi dams flooded shallow rivers of coastal Konkan region leading to floods in Raigad and Ratnagiri districts. Questions are being raised as to why there were no plans in place to shift people from vulnerable areas if there was a warning for heavy rainfall and the possibility of discharge of water from the dams. Local officials said they had begun shifting the people; however, many were not willing to go to temporary shelters, some were even worried about the Covid situation.

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Though the Konkan region experiences heavy rains every year, the downpour this year was much more. The high tide and discharge of water from dams made the situation worse, the officials said.

“Catchment areas of Koyna and Kolkewadi dam received very heavy rainfall, following which, water from both the dams were released. The incessant rainfall and high tide flooded the entire Chiplun city,” said Dr BN Patil district collector, Ratnagiri.

Koyna dam is located in the Satara district on the Sahyadri plateau, while Ratnagiri and other districts of Konkan are at the foothills of the Sahyadri mountain ranges.

Due to very heavy rains in the Sahyadri ranges, rivers flowing through Konkan are in spate. Besides, water was released from the Koyna dam to maintain its water level. Water was also discharged from the Kolkewadi dam, which is part of the Koyna Project. The water came gushing down through rivers in Ratnagiri district leading to floods.

Illegal constructions on the banks of the river made the situation worse. “We can call it a partially man-made disaster. Once the flood water recedes, a probe will be ordered into the illegal constructions,” Patil said.

Raigad district collector Nidhi Chaudhari said the Savitri river also overflowed owing to heavy rainfall at Mahabaleshwar, which pushed the district into floods.

“In the past 48 hours, Mahabaleshwar recorded over 1,100mm rainfall, which is record high and was also not expected. Most of the water from Mahabaleshwar ends up in the Savitri river. Unfortunately, high tide along with heavy rains coincided and the situation became critical,” Chaudhari said.

“We are on red alert for the six days and around 1,000 people were also shifted to safer places, while those who were not comfortable shifting due to Covid-19 were requested to go to their relatives. The district administration ensured they leave the place. However, it cannot be denied that some people returned without informing the local administration,” she said.

Till Friday, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts have recorded 1,242mm, 1,470mm and 1,236mm rainfall, respectively.

All the three districts have also received 138.8%, 172.2% and 159.7% of the average rainfall for this month, respectively, according to the rainfall recording and analysis wing of the state agriculture department data.

On Thursday, around 10,000 cusec water was discharged from the Koyna dam. On Friday, 51,000 cusec water was discharged, according to the officials from the relief and rehabilitation department.

“Districts from Konkan regions won’t have to worry about discharge from Koyna dam today, as water is being released from eastern gates, which will impact districts from western Maharashtra such as Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur. There won’t be any problem related to floods even in these districts, because the Almatti dam (which is downstream) is releasing over 200,000 cusec of water,” said an official from the relief and rehabilitation department.

Pravin Darekar, leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, criticised the state government for failing to anticipate the disaster despite predictions.

“It is a fact that the Konkan experiences very heavy rains every year, so why did the state machinery come into action only after a disaster took place? The state government was expected to make war-footing arrangements following the predictions and a red alert sounded for the Konkan region. They remained negligent and people are facing all the brunt,” Darekar said, who visited Taliye village in Raigad, where a landslide claimed the lives of several people.

State relief and rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar said that they are coming up with a permanent system to resolve the issue.

“A permanent system worth ₹3,700 crore will be set up by the state government in the Konkan region. Of them, ₹2,000 crore has been approved for underground cabling of the electricity network,” Wadettiwar said.

Meanwhile, over 1,200 people from Ratnagiri district and 2,681 people from Thane district have also been evacuated.