Mumbai: India's monsoon rains were above average for the second straight week, the weather office said, easing concerns of drought, although excessive rainfall flooded some areas on the west coast.
Over 1.32 lakh people have been shifted to safer places in Western Maharashtra with the flood situation remaining especially grim in Kolhapur and Sangli districts following incessant rains.
16 deaths reported from western Maharashtra
Sixteen deaths in the rain and flood-related incidents have been reported from western Maharashtra so far in the last seven days, officials said.
"In Pune region, so far 1.32 lakh people affected by floods have been evacuated to safer places," said Dr Deepak Mhaisekar, divisional commissioner, Pune.
In Solapur district, 2,500 people were moved to safer places in the temple town of Pandharpur after the discharge of water from the overflowing Ujani dam increased, he added.
"Teams of Army, Navy and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are conducting rescue operations in both the districts and six more NDRF teams will be airlifted to Kolhapur by Wednesday evening," he said.
"All the dams in the region are overflowing and the Met department has predicted continuous rains for the next three to four days. So if the catchment areas of dams receive more rain, the possibility of more floods can not be ruled out," Mhaisekar added.
In Pune district, over 13,000 people were shifted to safer places, he said.
In Satara, the flood situation is grim in Mahabaleshwar, Wai and Karad and so far 6,000 people have been evacuated.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reviewed the flood situation at a meeting in Mumbai.
In Kolhapur district, 204 out of total 1,234 villages have been affected due to the floods, resident deputy collector Sanjay Shinde said earlier on Wednesday morning.
"342 bridges have gone underwater and are closed for vehicles. Twenty-nine state highways and 56 roads have also been shut. Mumbai-Bengaluru National Highway No 4 and the Kolhapur-Ratnagiri highway (part of Mumbai-Goa national highway) are still closed," he said.
Over 45 boats have been deployed for evacuation operations, he said.
Five teams of the Western Naval Command and four teams of divers from the naval base in Goa have been deployed for rescue operations in Kolhapur and other areas, a defence spokesperson said.
During the review meeting in Mumbai, the chief minister asked the water resources department to share information on water discharge from dams and other projects with the railways regularly.
He also asked the officials to send medical teams in the affected districts and take special care of children in flood-hit areas.
Karnataka rain toll rises to 3
The rain-related toll in Karnataka has gone up to three, even as parts of north and coastal areas along with the Malnada region continued to reel under a heavy downpour.
A woman was killed in a house collapse in Belagavi while a man was swept away in Dharwad district, police sources said. Another man was killed on Tuesday in Belagavi as a portion of the wall of his house crashed on him.
The situation continued to remain grim as the floodgates were opened in the dams in neighbouring Maharashtra and barrages and dams in Karnataka, where road and rail links remain affected.
While Belagavi, Bagalkote, Vijayapura, Raichur and Yadgir had been battered by the floods, torrential rains threw life out of gear in Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, Mangaluru, Kodagu, Hubballi-Dharwad, Karwar, Hassan and Shivamogga.
Belagavi, Bagalkote and Yadgir bore the brunt of the heavy downpour and water released from dams on Krishna river and its tributaries.
Government schools in Belagavi turned into rehabilitation centres where the flood-hit people shared their rooms with the livestock.
Chikkamagaluru district too was badly hit by the torrential rain.
The swollen Bhadra river completely submerged the Hebbale bridge that connects Horanadu.
The opposition Congress and JDS have accused the government of "inaction" in dealing with the flood situation.
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa is the only Minister in his Council of Ministers. He is currently in Delhi to finalise the Cabinet formation with BJP central leadership.
The Chief Minister has already instructed officials to take up relief and rescue measures on a war-footing, official sources said.
With inputs from PTI
