Pune witnesses 15 rain-related death as the city reels under heavy downpour

Mumbai: At least 15 people have died in rain-related incidents as heavy rains pounded Pune and Raigad districts and other regions leading to inundation and flooding on Thursday.

Hundreds of people were rescued in a multi-agency operation which would continue overnight. 

Mumbai and the larger Mumbai metropolitan region too received heavy downpour leading to traffic snarls at arterial roads and delay in suburban train services.

Because of poor visibility, a few flights were affected at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. 

The worst-affected districts were Pune and Kolhapur in Western Maharashtra and Raigad in coastal Konkan belt - part of the Sahyadri Ranges of Western Ghats that attract heavy rainfall. 

The entire Pune district has received heavy rainfall leading to flooding in large geographical stretches including Pimpri-Chinchwad with bridges and culverts coming under water. This deluge— one of the worst in several decades in Pune—has submerged roads, causing waist-deep waterlogging in several places and leaving behind a trail of destruction like uprooted trees and damaged roads. 

The Tamhini recorded a rainfall of 556 mm in the past 24 hours.

The Lavasa  valley received 453.5 mm rainfall followed by Lonavla which received 322.5 mm rainfall.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis, who is state’s Home Minister and Ajit Pawar, who is state’s Finance and Pune guardian minister, reviewed the situation.

The NDRF was immediately called along with SDRF, Pune Police, Pune Rural Police, Pune Municipal Corporation  (PMC) and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).

Units from Indian Army’s Pune-based Southern Command too helped the civil administration in rescuing people. 

The Indian Air Force has been kept on standby. 

Around 40,000 cusecs of water was discharged from the Khadakwasla Dam overnight leading to swelling of the Mula-Mutha river, which passes through Pune. 

Low-lying areas such as Ekta Nagar, Sinhagad Road and Pulachi Wadi experienced heavy flooding.

In Pune’s Deccan area, three people were electrocuted to death while they were trying to remove a handcart.

Maharashtra also witnessed a string of landslides across the states propelled by heavy rains.

In Maval, a landslide occurred in Adarwadi village in Maval tehsil killing one. In Lavasa, three to four persons are feared dead after a landslide hit three bungalows. 

One person died by drowning in Raigad district and three deaths were reported from Chandrapur district.

Two persons were reportedly swept away and drowned  in the Barvi Dam in Badlapur in  Thane. 

As far as Pune is concerned, people questioned the sudden release from the Khadakwasla dam which caught them unaware during the dead of night.

Later in the day, another 40,000 cusecs were released, however, this time people in low-lying areas were informed by police.