Pune rains create havoc: 1 dead in Tamhini ghat, 2 feared trapped in Lavasa landslide

A team of NDRF as well as the local administration are engaged in a search and rescue operation at the landslide site in Lavasa. Pic/NDRF

One person died in a rain-related incident, while two individuals were feared trapped after a landslide hit three bungalows in Lavasa city in Pune district on Thursday amid heavy showers, police said.

According to the police, in Mulshi tehsil, a man identified as Shivaji Bahirat, died after a roadside eatery came under the debris of a landslide in Tamhini Ghat, PTI reported. Another person sustained injuries in the incident, the police added.

The Raigad Police said that traffic has been halted at Tamhini Ghat on the Raigad-Pune route to clear the debris resulting from a landslide amid heavy rains in the state. "Traffic will be stopped for the next few hours until the debris is cleared," stated Raigad Police according to a report by news agency ANI.

In Lavasa - a private, planned city located around 65km from Pune city - two people employed as caretakers were feared trapped in one of the three bungalows that came under the debris of the early morning landslide in Dasve village, said Manoj Yadav, senior inspector at Paud police station. According to the police, a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as well as the local administration are engaged in a search and rescue operation at the landslide site.

Pune collector Suhas Diwase said that Chief Minister (CM) Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar are monitoring the situation.

Lavasa, which is located in Mulshi tehsil, recorded 453 mm rainfall in a 24-hour period that ended at 8.30 am on Thursday, officials said.

The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a red alert in Pune city, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Bhor, Velha, Maval, Mulshi, Haveli and Khadakwasla and has predicted extremely heavy rainfall for these areas.

"It is raining heavily in the hilly areas of Pune in the Western Ghats. In the next three hours, we are expecting heavy to moderately heavy rains in the Pune region," said Diwase.

Meanwhile, owing to continuous rainfall in the catchment area of Khadakwasla Dam, the dam reached its full capacity on Thursday. As per information from the District Information Office, the Pune administration increased the speed and released the water into the Mutha River.

(With ANI and PTI inputs)