17 July,2009 09:17 AM IST | | Kaumudi Gurjar
PCMC asks Puneites to keep away from rivers following the mishap in which a teenager was stranded and miraculously rescued from Pavana River on Tuesday; stations fire brigade vehicles at sensitive points
On July 14, Shaurya Chakra awardee Colonel (Retd) Ranjit Singh Dev rescued 17-year-old Vikas Jagdale, who had held on to a rock in the raging Pavana River for nearly seven hours. Though, such heroic feats occur only once in a while and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) is not taking chances.
The disaster management cell has asked Puneites to avoid venturing near the Mula and Pavana Rivers.
Precautions
Omprakash Bahiwal, chief coordinator, disaster management, said, "We have deployed security guards and fire brigade personnel on the river banks, especially near the low-lying areas, including Mula Nagar in Sangvi, Subhash Nagar and Ambedkar Nagar."
All geared up
A fire brigade engine has been stationed near the Sangvi Bridge and two vehicles patrol from Kalewadi to Dapodi Bridge to alert citizens about rising water levels. The water level in the Pavana dam was below the danger mark on Wednesday, but the PCMC had to evacuate three slums in Subhash Nagar and Bhat Nagar after rainwater flooded the areas.
Relocation
Assistant Commissioner Mustafa Phadnis, PCMC, said, "The slumdwellers were shifted to nearby municipal schools in wards B and D." Phadnis added that water is discharged from the Pavana dam only after the water level crosses the 612m mark.
Dilip Gawade, assistant commissioner of B ward, said, "Sixteen slumdwellers from Subhash Nagar area were shifted to Veer Ghogodevi Mandir and 38 families in Bhaud Nagar near Bhat Nagar were shifted to Samaj Mandir and a municipal school in Bhat Nagar. Besides, slumdwellers in Sanjay Gandhi Nagar near Kalewadi Bridge were shifted to Kamla Nehru School in Pimpri."
The slum dwellers of Bhat Nagar returned to their camps yesterday, as the water level in Pavana Dam receeded tou00a0 606.09 metres.
