Govt to address demand of villagers in landslide-prone areas of Pune district for relocation: Pawar

Pune: As the rescue operation is still being carried out in Raigad and Satara districts after the deadly landslide incidents, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said that some villagers of Pune district living in landslide-prone areas are demanding relocation

Pune: As the rescue operation is still being carried out in Raigad and Satara districts after the deadly landslide incidents, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said that some villagers of Pune district living in landslide-prone areas are demanding relocation.

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According to the district records, there are 23 villages in Pune district which come under landslide-prone areas. Pawar said such villages can be relocated just like the rehabilitation is done after the construction of dams.

Pawar claimed that the Taliye village in Raigad district where almost 40 houses were buried under the soil on Thursday evening, was not in the landslide-prone area. Pawar said the locals in landslide prone areas were warned in advance and some were shifted to safe place. “Nine districts are heavily suffering from heavy rainfall. They are Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli, Raigad, Thane, Mumbai, Pune, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. I would like to tell the people that Taliye in Raigad district was not in an area which was prone to landslides. People who were living in landslide prone areas were alerted by the Raigad district administration and some were shifted to the safe locations.”

“District officials have informed me that some villages are demanding to be relocated. Earlier, when they were asked about this, locals were unwilling and gave reasons that their farms are nearby. But now they are thinking about safety as the incidents of landslides are coming into light. Such villages can be rehabilitated on new lands just like the procedure is done after the construction of dams. The state government is ready for that,” Pawar said at a press meet in Pune on Saturday.

After heavy rains on July 22 and July 23, 420 villages in Pune districts have been affected. The incidents of landslides on roads were recorded in villages in hilly parts in Bhor, Maval and Mulshi tehsils. Pawar said the villages in risk can be rehabilitated like Malin was reset after the tragic landslide incident a few years ago.

“In Raigad district, around a thousand people have been relocated,” said Pawar. State administration informed that by Saturday morning almost 90,000 people from the worst-affected 9 districts had been relocated. Most numbers are from Kolhapur and Sangli districts. According to Pawar, the flood situation in Kolhapur and Sangli remained a concern as the Panchganga and Krishna rivers were flowing above the warning levels.

Kolhapur partially submerged, floodwater flows 5-ft above Mumbai-Bengaluru highway

The state administration has evacuated 90,000 people from the worst-affected nine districts and relocated them to safety. Most numbers are from Kolhapur and Sangli districts. According to Ajit Pawar, the flood situation in Kolhapur and Sangli remained a concern as the Panchganga and Krishna rivers were flowing above the warning levels.

“Warning level in Sangli is at 45, but the water level is at 49. In Kolhapur, the warning level is at 43, but the water level is at 53. Water is being discharged from Koyna dam. We have requested the Karnataka government to release water from the Almatti dam, so the swollen rivers could return to normal. They are doing it. 40,882 people in Kolhapur district and 42,573 from Sangli district have been shifted to safe places,” said Pawar.

Pawar assured that the government would give financial aid in the flood-hit areas after the punchnama is completed.

Pawar said the flood situation in Kolhapur and Sangli remain a matter of concern as the rivers in these districts have crossed danger mark and water from the dams in Krishna banks has to be released because of the excessive rains in the free catchment areas.