Maha: Several people evacuated from low-lying areas in Thane and Palghar as rivers swell

People wade through the waterlogged Thane market road amid heavy rainfall, on Wednesday. ANI Photo

Several people were evacuated from low-lying areas in Maharashtra's Thane and Palghar districts and were shifted to safer places as heavy rains pounded the two districts on Wednesday, causing water-logging in many localities. Schools and colleges remained closed in many parts of Palghar district because of the heavy downpour.

In the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am Wednesday, Thane city received 90.08 mm of rainfall.

Many rivers including the Ulhas (Thane), Amba, Savitri and Patalganga (in neighbouring Raigad) were in spate, they said.

Some bridges on the Ulhas, Kalu and Murbadi rivers in Thane were inundated, the officials said.

A team of NDRF was dispatched to rescue some people trapped in Kalyan township as water from the swollen Ulhas river flooded some localities, a district official said.

The Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) said the level of the Ulhas river is on the rise and as a precautionary measure the water supply from the Mohili water treatment plant is being stopped.

Many areas in Bhiwandi city, also in Thane district, are marooned due to heavy rains.

As many as 200 families from Sonivali and Hendrepada in Badlapur town of Thane have been shifted to safer places following heavy downpours and flooding in those areas, District Information Officer Nandkumar Waghmare said.

Around 60 families from Morya Nagar in Kalyan taluka and inmates of a senior citizens' home in Ambarnath town in Thane district were also shifted to safer places, he said.

Also read: Monsoon rains: Schools in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Palghar to remain shut on Thursday

A report from the Thane district headquarters said the Amba river in Nagotane, Savitri in Mahad, Patalganga in Lohap, and Ulhas river in Jambulpada have crossed the danger mark.

The Kundalika river in Dolvahal, Ulhas in Badlapur, and Kalu in Titwala have crossed the warning level, it said.

Also, some bridges were inundated between Rayte and Dahagaon (over Ulhas river), on the road leading to Chikle village (over Kalu river), and over the Murbadi river in Murbad, a district administration official said.

A portion of the protection wall between two housing societies in Thane collapsed in the morning after a huge tree fell on it, a civic official said.

No one was injured in the incident.

A total of 13 cases of tree fall were reported in Thane during the last 24 hours, the official said, adding the civic authorities also received calls about damage to vehicles at various places.

Some areas in Vasai were water-logged and teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police and revenue department carried out rescue and relief operations, he said.

Meanwhile, two jawans of Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRS) saved two men from drowning in the Upvan lake in Thane city on Wednesday, Disaster Management Cell chief Yasin Tadvi said.

Areas adjoining rivers and sea shores in Palghar district have been put on high alert and an NDRF team has been positioned in the Vasai-Virar region to tackle any emergency due to floods, officials said.

More than 100 people were evacuated from water-logged areas in Vasai and shifted to safer places amid high tide, Resident Deputy Collector Subhash Bhagade told PTI.

A four-month-old infant slipped out of the hands of a woman walking on railway tracks and fell into a nullah between Thakurli and Kalyan stations in Thane district as heavy rains disrupted local train services.

NDRF personnel are trying to trace the infant, an official said on Wednesday night.

A 14-year-old girl drowned in a swollen drain while her 12-year-old brother was rescued by people in Bhiwandi city of Thane district in the afternoon amid a downpour, a civic official said.

The incident occurred when the brother-sister duo was walking home after attending school, the official said.

In Katrap area in Ambernath town, several school students got stuck in flood waters. They were rescued by local people using ropes. (PTI)