Toll from floods, landslides in Maharashtra touches 112

Mumbai At least 112 peoplehave died and 99 others are still missing in Maharashtra, officials said on Saturday after days of heavy rain in the Konkan and Western Maharashtra region triggered flooding and landslides in several districts

Mumbai

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At least 112 peoplehave died and 99 others are still missing in Maharashtra, officials said on Saturday after days of heavy rain in the Konkan and Western Maharashtra region triggered flooding and landslides in several districts.

Nearly 135,313 people were evacuated from vulnerable areas in nine districts that were hit by landslides and floods on Thursday and Friday, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said.

“A total of 112 people have lost their lives due to heavy rains till Saturday morning (in Maharashtra). These include 52 in Raigad, 13 in Satara, four in Mumbai and nearby areas, one in Pune, 21 in Ratnagiri, seven in Kolhapur, 12 in Thane and two in Sindhudurg. 99 people are missing till Saturday morning,” the deputy CM said.

Relief and rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar, however, put the death toll much higher. “138 deaths have been reported due to floods and other rain-related incidents,” he said, earlier in the day.

The toll is likely to increase, with heavy rainfall stalling rescue operations in several areas. Till Saturday evening, a team of the police and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) alone, recovered at least 86 bodies — 47 in Raigad district’s Taliye village, 28 bodies in Satara district and 11 in Ratnagiri.

According to official data, 890 villages in nine districts have been affected since Thursday.

The state government “will see no such incidents happen in the future”, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said after a visit to Taliye village in one of the worst-hit Raigad district.

“The state government will see no such incidents will happen in future and even if they happen, no human life will be lost in future. In order to achieve this, the state government will have to rehabilitate all the villages located at hillslopes and foothills. The residents of such villages will be resettled at safer places,” Thackeray said after reviewing the ground situation in Taliye.

A portion of a hillock flattened most of the Taliye village late on Thursday, burying at least 32 houses. Till Saturday, the landslide claimed 49 lives. At least 50people are still feared trapped under the debris.

The chief minister said the state government will also prepare a water management scheme to reduce the instances of flooding. “We have started working on formulating a water management scheme to overcome the flood situation in the state. It will ensure management of excessive water collected in catchment areas of dams due to heavy rains which often result in floods following discharge from dams,” Thackeray said.

Western Maharashtra’s Kolhapur, Satara and Sangli districts, which are among the worst affected by the flooding, also saw massive devastation due to flooding in 2019.

Teams of the local administrations and the State Disaster Relief Force, along with NDRF, Coast Guard, Navy and Army, are undertaking rescue operations in the affected areas.

The NDRF has enhanced the number of its teams from 26 to 34 for the operations, a spokesperson said Saturday.

“In view of the severity of the situation, additional eight NDRF teams have been airlifted from Kolkata and Vadodara base which are being deployed in affected areas of Maharashtra,” the spokesperson said.

The force is tracking the India Meteorological Department’s weather forecast and the Central Water Commission’s report with regard to Mumbai and coastal districts of the Konkan region in Maharashtra that are witnessing heavy rainfall since the last few days, the spokesperson said, after residents in several areas complained about the slow pace of the rescue work.

Apart from the rescue operations, the administration is struggling to restore water and electricity supply and arrange food and medicines in affected areas.

The government is planning to distribute ration kits, including rice, pulses and kerosene in the affected areas, the deputy CM told mediapersons.

Pawar also announced a financial assistance of ₹5 lakh each to the kin of the victims, while the Central government has announced ₹2 lakh each.

While flood water in many Konkan areas is receding, the discharge of water from dams led to further overflowing of some rivers and rise in flood water levels in many areas of Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts, officials said.

IMD, meanwhile, has forecast a reduction in rainfall intensity over the next 24 hours. “Further reduction in rainfall intensity is very likely along the west coast, including Konkan, Goa and adjoining interior Maharashtra, during the next 24 hours,” the IMD said.

(With agency inputs)