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Heavy rain claims 27 lives across western Maharashtra, Solapur worst-hit
Torrential rainfall in most parts of Western Maharashtra resulted in flood-like situations in many districts as dams and small reservoirs were filled to the brim.
Heavy rain claimed at least 27 lives in separate incidents in various parts of Western Maharashtra since Wednesday, an official from Divisional Commissionerate in Pune said on Thursday.
Torrential rainfall in most parts of Western Maharashtra resulted in flood-like situations in many districts as dams and small reservoirs were filled to the brim.
According to Pratap Jadhav, deputy divisional commissioner for Pune division, Solapur was one of the worst affected districts in the current spell of rain.
“A total of 27 people have died due to rain-related incidents in Solapur, Sangli and Pune districts. Of these 27 casualties, 14 are from Solapur district, 9 from Sangli and 4 from Pune district,” said Jadhav.
According to the administration, six of the 14 casualties in Solapur were due to a wall collapse on the banks of Chandrabhaga in temple town Pandharpur. The district received 138 mm rainfall on Wednesday forcing authorities to release 1.4 lakh cusecs of water by Thursday afternoon.
“The rest of the casualties in Solapur were related to flood-like situations,” said Jadhav.
He said that in Pune, four people died after getting swept away in a swollen stream in Daund tehsil, while one is still missing.
He added that nine deaths in Sangli district are also related to rain-induced accidents.
“As per the preliminary information, around 20,000 people have been shifted to safer places in Solapur, Sangli and Pune,” he added.
