State govt seeks two helicopters for monsoon

Gearing up for the monsoons, Maharashtra government has requested the Air Force to deploy two helicopters in the state to facilitate relief and rescue operations during the rainy season.

"We have written to the Air Force to give us two helicopters during the monsoon, to facilitate relief and rescue work during floods," a senior official from the Relief and Rehabilitation Department said.

There is already a helicopter stationed in Mumbai and the others would be stationed at Talegaon near Pune and Amravati in Vidarbha region, the official said.

This would also help aid reach the affected areas early, he added. A pre-monsoon meeting held at the secretariat reviewed preparations in the state, discussed flood causes and identified flood-prone areas.

Over the last four years, damage due to floods has reduced, the officials said. In 2005, the financial loss was Rs 8,577 crore while last year it was Rs 1,500 crore, he added.

Despite reduction in losses due to floods, the preparedness and response capacity of district administration needs to be enhanced for quick mobilisation, he said.

The government has also positioned 60 inflatable rubber boats in 60 urban areas like Mumbai, Ratnagiri, Jalgaon and Pune, he said.

From the past experiences, the State Government has learnt that all districts of the state are vulnerable to hydro-meteorological disasters, he said. Climatic changes may cause very high rainfall in some areas like Amravati, Chiplun and Mahad in Konkan, he added.

The Government is also monitoring inter-state dams like Almatty Dam in Karnataka, Ukai Dam in Gujarat, Sanjay Sagar in Madhya Pradesh and Pochampad in Andhra Pradesh, he said.

District collectors have been asked to keep a close watch on precipitation and probable load on the dams and continuous monitoring of water-level to alert the people in case of release of water, he said.

Re-demarcation of Red and Blue lines indicating flood threat have been completed in 502 villages in Pune, 634 in Nashik, 817 in Aurangabad, 396 in Konkan, 577 in Nagpur and 1,067 villages in Amaravati regions, he said.