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Over 100 villages marooned in Vidarbha
NAGPUR: Incessant rains continued to lash Gadchiroli and Chandrapur districts where over a hundred villages have marooned. Two villagers were swept away after a
NAGPUR: Incessant rains continued to lash Gadchiroli and Chandrapur districts where over a hundred villages have marooned. Two villagers were swept away after a boat they were travelling in capsized in the Wainganga River near Sawangi in Gadchiroli district.
Earlier, four people were swept away in Kuhi nullah near Ballarpur in Chandrapur district when the car in which they were travelling fell into it.
The villagers have been rehabilitated in another place. However, a few families are still living in the deserted village.
Following incessant rains and release of water from Gosikhurd dam, the water from Wainganga river has marooned the old Lajad village. In Gadchiroli district, hundreds of villages including Hemalkasa, where Magsaysay award winner Prakash Amte’s lives,were devoid of all means of communication following incessant rains over the past six days. All of Bhamragarh town was marooned as the water from the Parlakota river entered the houses and the local administration had to shift several people to safety.
In Yavatmal, the district administration has issued flood alert in 50 villages as Painganga river and its nullahs were flowing above the alarming level. The district has registered over 70mm rains in the last 24 hours while in the last 15 days, the district recorded around 350 mm rainfall.
In Amravati district, 11 tahsils had recorded excessive rains that have claimed three lives.
With incessant rainfall in the past six days, Vidarbha region has turned into a rain-surplus region from a rain-deficit one. In fact, several places, especially in Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts, the excess rainfall threw normal life out of gear.
Regional Meteorological Centre, Nagpur, has issued a warning of heavy rainfall ‘at isolated places’ in Vidarbha until July 16. Water storage in most of the reservoirs in Nagpur division has also improved.
On t he other hand, t he incessant downpour that has hit entire Vidarbha including Nagpur, signalled cheers among the farmers awaiting the rains for their crops. This year, Vidarbha has received 66% more rainfall than average. The total average rainfall of the season from June 1 to July 13 in Nagpur division was at over 550 mm.
The water stock in major reservoirs of the state that had dipped to around 6% of its combined capacities has started rising. By Tuesday, it had reached 28%.
“Good rain spells have provided an ideal setting for sowing and seeds have germinated well already,” says Kishore Tiwari, chairman of the agriculture task force of the state said adding that sowing was almost completed in all five districts of western Vidarbha that saw a drought last season. In western Vidarbha, comprising Akola, Amravati, Buldhana, Washim and Yavatmal, which saw hardly 450 mm rainfall last season, a deficit of 30-35 %, the region witnessed over 400 mm rainfall by Wednesday.
