Maharashtra: July 26-like scare in Pune; 4 dead, city waterlogged

Heavy rainfall in Pune on Wednesday and Thursday resulted in four deaths several people being trapped and property damage worth lakhs The flooding sparked fears reminiscent of the 2005 deluge though Punersquos rainfall was less severe The India Meteorological Department IMD reported 1141 mm of rain in the 24 hours up to 8 am yesterday causing rivers and canals to overflowFloodingaffected areas including PimpriChinchwad Chowk on the MumbaiBangalore highway Narayan Peth and Akurdi stranding commuters The Khadakwasla dam released a large volume of water into the Mutha river around 3 am due to heavy rainAerial view of the flooding in WakadAccording to the Pune police ldquoThree individuals lost their lives in the Bhide Bridge area Abhishek Ajay Ghanekar 25 and Akash Vinayak Mane 21 both from Pulachi Wadi in Narayan Peth along with a Nepali labourer Shiva Jidbahadur Parihar 18 were electrocuted while trying to move their stall to safety amid rising waters Despite being rushed to Sahyadri Hospital they were declared dead at 5 amAuthorities have issued alerts and warnings and oover 200 residents from Ekta Nagar have been evacuated due to chesthigh water levels with rescue operations underway by the National Disaster Response Force NDRF The water level at Veer Dam has risen to 57930 metres prompting an increase in discharge to 4637 cubic feet per second cusecs with plans to raise it further to 13911 cusecsldquoIn Punes Ekta Nagar area water levels have risen to chest height prompting the evacuation of over 200 residents In Chinchwad an ambulance used for a blood donation camp near Moraya Gosavi Temple has been submergedrdquo an official saidLocals speakAnand Vanjpe a Pune resident told midday ldquoThe excessive flooding across the city brought back memories of the July 26 2005 Mumbai rain Although the current situation in Pune isnrsquot as severe it felt eerily similar especially with the Khadakwasla dams gates being opened which added to the distressing circumstancesrdquoDeputy CMAjit Pawar takes stock of the situation at the control roomVikrant Amrale a resident of Bibwewadi in Pune said ldquoThere was waterlogging in my area which started receding by afternoon We will be taking it up with municipal corporation engineersrdquo Chetan Ukrandre a resident living in Guruwar Peth said ldquoWe are not severely affected but it is bad around Sinhagad road Parts of the city are also flooded schools have been shut so children are safe at homePune resident Madhuri Hiwale said ldquoI have been staying in Pune for over two decades now but I have never witnessed such rainfall Looking at the extreme downpour after seeing the visuals of waterlogging we preferred to stay inside our homes The waterlogging in the city also highlights the fact that we need better planning and a good stormwater drainage systemrdquoAjit takes stockIn the afternoon Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar visited the Pune Municipal Corporation disaster relief room He went to the disaster room and took stock of the flood situation in the Pune district and discussed the matter with the officialsldquoSchools in areas experiencing heavy rainfall including Pune PimpriChinchwad Bhor Velha and Mulshi have been closed Previously low water levels in the Varasgaon Temghar Khadakwasla and Panshet dams meant there was only enough water for shortterm city supply However these areas are now receiving heavy rain potentially necessitating water releases Citizens are being alerted due to the situation Landslides have occurred in Mulshi and there have been some reports of loss of liferdquo Pawar saidldquoHeavy rainfall in the Khadakwasla and Pune areas has led to extensive flooding Due to widespread asphalting and concreting in Pune except for forested areas hills and government buildings there are few open spaces to absorb the rainwater After two or three days of rain the soilrsquos ability to absorb water has decreased The rivers limited watercarrying capacity has resulted in waterlogging in areas along the riverbanks and lowlying areas like Nagar Road and Ektanagar Water has entered buildings basements and vehicles in these areas Citizens are being evacuated to safe locations with some being moved to the upper floors of buildingsrdquoThe weather department has forecasted the next five days issuing orange alerts for some districts and yellow alerts for others All state mechanisms are on alert Necessary supplies for aid and rescue operations are available in the affected areas if neededNDRF teams are deployed at 18 locations and six State Disaster Response Force SDRF teams are stationed in districts like Kurla and Ghatkopar in Mumbai Thane Raigad Palghar Ratnagiri Sindhudurg Satara and Sangli