Over 400 evacuated from dam near Digha
The unkempt dam, constructed in 1912, belongs to the railways while the land is owned by the forest department
Navi Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) on Sunday evacuated over 400 tourists from the Moghliche dam near Digha following sudden inspection by senior administrative officials. The sight of tourists risking their lives by swimming in the dam and scaling the walls to enjoy the waterfall prompted the officials to take preventive action.
The unkempt dam, constructed in 1912, belongs to the railways while the land is owned by the forest department. The dam was used earlier for washing steam driven wagons but has not been cleaned or desilted in a long time.
“When we visited the area on Sunday, we saw hundreds of revellers jumping into the dam for a swim. Many were seated on the walls and even scaling the edges to enjoy the excess water gushing out of the dam. Swimming in the dam water is dangerous because it is filled weeds, with high chances of people getting stuck in them,” said deputy municipal commissioner (zone II) Kailas Gaikwad.
“We had expected some visitors at the spot as it was a Sunday. But when we saw hundreds of people endangering their lives, we immediately decided to evacuate them with the help of police to prevent any mishaps,” said NMMC commissioner Kailas Shinde.
Access to the dam has been closed following Sunday’s evacuation exercise. “Since the dam belongs to the railways and the land belongs to the forest department, NMMC technically cannot do much. But keeping public safety in mind, access to the area has been now closed,” said an official. The police have provided four marshalls who have been stationed in the area along with two security guards deployed by NMMC to keep a watch on miscreants.
Civic officials also visited accident-prone areas near the dam on Sunday to ensure there are no mishaps. “There are large settlements beneath the reservoir, which are regularly monitored during the monsoon,” said an official.