“Unprecedented” rains triggered floods in Sangli and Kolhapur: Ajit Pawar

PUNE Amid criticism that water management and unauthorised constructions led to flooding last week, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said that “unprecedented” rains triggered floods in Sangli and Kolhapur districts in Western Maharashtra

PUNE Amid criticism that water management and unauthorised constructions led to flooding last week, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said that “unprecedented” rains triggered floods in Sangli and Kolhapur districts in Western Maharashtra.

HT Image

“When heavy rains started after July 22, there was enough storage capacity in dams in the Krishna river basin, but heavy downpours in the pre-catchment areas of dams caused floods downstream,” he said.

Pawar described the pre-catchment area of the dam as the area ahead of the dam’s wall. He added that since its construction, the Koyna dam never received such a huge influx of water.

“Around 16.5 TMC water was received in one day in the Koyna dam, which has a storage capacity of 100 TMC. There is a place near Koyna called Navja, where 32-inch rainfall was witnessed,” Pawar said after visiting the flood-hit areas.

The deputy CM said the collective water storage in dams in the Krishna basin is at 84 per cent this time, compared to 50 per cent storage in the corresponding period last year.

“As far as water storage in the dams in the basins of the Krishna and Bhima rivers is concerned, the current collective water storage is 71 per cent against 37 per cent last year,” he said. Pawar said the work to assess losses caused due to floods has still not been completed.

“The real picture about the damage caused to crops and farms will emerge after the water recedes. I have instructed the district administration to continue with the assessment of losses at new places,” he added.

Speaking about landslides, Pawar said such incidents were reported from the areas that were not prone to landslips.

Responding to a query, Pawar said there was good coordination between the Centre and the Maharashtra government in managing the flood situation.

“To avoid flooding in future, emphasis will be given on strengthening the flood management system. I have received some suggestions to have SDRF centres in flood-prone districts so that when such a situation arises, these groups can be pressed into action instead of waiting for help from agencies like the NDRF, Army, coastguard, and Navy,” he said.

When asked if the current flood situation in western Maharashtra is a “man-made” crisis, Pawar dismissed such a contention saying “unprecedented” rainfall in “pre-catchment” areas of dams was responsible.

“The green cover has not reduced in the areas where the landslide and flooding have taken place. It is being talked about that due to the high tree cutting activities, the incidents of landslide

The deputy chief minister said a decision on providing relief to the people affected by floods in Maharashtra will be taken in the next couple of days.

Pawar on Monday toured various rain-hit villages in Sangli district and used a rescue boat to reach out to flood victims in some areas.

(With agency inputs)