Situation in Chiplun in Ratnagiri district very grim; feared to be worse than the 2005 floods
@the_news_21
Pune: Incessant rains over the last 24 hours that have pounded several parts of Maharashtra, particularly Chiplun and Mahad in the Konkan region and Kolhapur and Satara districts in the ‘sugar heartland’ of western Maharashtra have led to a flood-like situation in several places in these parts of the state.
According to official reports, one person is believed to have died in a rain-related accident in Mahad city in Raigad, while the situation in Chiplun and Khed taluks (both in Ratnagiri district) is particularly grim. More than 5000 residents have already been moved to safer places on high ground while efforts underway on a war footing to rescue many who have been feared trapped inside their houses.
According to sources, the Vashishti and Shiv rivers which flow through Chiplun city began overflowing a little after 3.30 a.m. on Thursday due to the discharge of waters from a nearby dam, taking residents by surprise as the floodwaters began rising to alarming levels.
Residents fear that the present situation in Chiplun is far worse than that experienced at the time of the 2005 floods which ravaged the Konkan. The old market area and the new bridge which straddles Chiplun city have been completely submerged by floodwaters.
The continuous overnight rains coupled with headwaters flowing from dams and passing through the Kumbharli Ghat (a mountain pass connecting coastal Ratnagiri with Satara district) have flooded the Chiplun city.
Scores of four-wheelers and two-wheelers were seen floating in the water, while several houses are said to have been damaged owing to the rain.
Disclosing that the situation was extremely dire in the Konkan region, Shiv Sena MP from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency Vinayak Raut remarked that the water levels had risen eight-ten feet in the city while the old part of Chiplun was completely submerged under the floodwaters.
“Ratnagiri has been bearing the brunt of heavy rainfall that has been lashing the Konkan region while the condition of Chiplun and Khed tehsil is especially bad. People are trapped in their houses. Townships and bazaars have been inundated by floodwaters. I have urged Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to immediately dispatch rescue teams and take help from the Coastguard. Two National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have already started from Pune while a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team had been dispatched from Kolhapur,” Raut said, adding that helicopters, too, would be mobilized to assist in the relief and rescue operations.
The lethal combination of high tide and heavy rains are disrupting the rescue efforts in the mountainous locales from the outside, authorities expressed fears of the NDRF team would face a daunting challenge in reaching Chiplun. Municipal authorities have pressed all available boats into action
Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab and the Guardian Minister of Ratnagiri said that the first priority would be to rescue the people in the low-lying areas along the coast while Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar said that rescue operations had commenced in earnest.
The grim scenes in Chiplun, Khed and Mahad tehsils are already conjuring up harrowing memories of the 2019 floods which had ravaged Kolhapur and Sangli districts.
“Chiplun is like a saucer with mountains on four sides and the Vashishti River flowing through the city. The prevailing condition is expected to be far worse than the floods of 2005 and 2007 and the NDRF may face a daunting challenge to reach Chiplun. We are praying that all those trapped emerge unscathed from this ordeal,” Bhaskar Jadhav, the Sena MLA from Guhagar constituency in Ratnagiri.
Torrential rains have forced the Mumbai-Goa highway to remain completely shut while landslides and falling boulders have resulted rail traffic on the Konkan Railway to coming to a standstill. The Ghat sections in Pune district have especially witnessed a number of incidents of boulders falling and rail traffic getting completely disrupted along the Mumbai-Pune railway line following boulders falling at Karjat near Lonavla.
Authorities said that a flood-like situation currently faced Mahad tehsil where the water had reached waist-levels. Mahad has received 207 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours. The floodwaters have entered shops, bazaars, residential areas while communication lines with several villages have been disrupted.
Despite nature wreaking havoc, politicking was not far off with BJP Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Legislative Council, Pravin Darekar, criticizing the ruling Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)government for failing to anticipate the magnitude of the monsoon disaster that has befallen on the Konkan region.
“An NDRF team ought to be permanently stationed in Konkan. It is a given that the region experiences extremely heavy rain. Why is it that the government machinery gets awaken to the dangers only now when thousands of people are battling for their lives in flood-hit places like Chiplun?” Darekar said.
Meanwhile, two more NDRF teams from Pune are heading to Kolhapur district where several tehsils have been pulverized by heavy downpour in the last 48 hours.
While Gaganbawda and Chandgadh are among the worst-hit tehsils in Kolhapur, the district’s Panchganga river is currently flowing at 36 ft near the Rajaram bridge (the danger mark is 43 ft) while nearly 40 barrages and waterworks are submerged under the floodwaters.
Neighboring Satara district has also not been spared from monsoon fury either, with the hill station of Mahabaleshwar notching a record 458 mm rain in the last 24 hours, prompting a massive discharge of water from the Koyna dam. The district has been put on high alert.
The Pune branch of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted widespread rainfall in the State till July 25, which is expected to cover almost 75% of the total area.
