New Delhi: Nine people drowned on Thursday when a rescue boat capsized in flood-ravaged Sangli district of Western Maharashtra, even as flood waters were expected to recede faster as Karnataka agreed to release more water from the Almatti dam downstream.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis conducted an aerial survey to review the flood situation in Sangli and Kolhapur, which are the worst hit following heavy rains in the area where the Krishna and Panchganga rivers are in spate.
Nine people drowned and four were missing after a boat engaged in rescue work overturned in Sangli, an official said.
The mishap took place near Brahmanal village in Palus tehsil when the boat was carrying around 30-32 people affected by floods to a safer place, Pune divisional commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said.
“Nine bodies have been recovered so far. Some 15 people swam to safety,” he said.
Police officials and disaster management personnel were making all efforts to trace the missing persons, he said.
The boat belonged to the village panchayat, a local official said.
Fadnavis chairs meeting
Chief minister Fadnavis expressed grief over the loss of lives in the Sangli boat accident. He said ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh will given to the family of the deceased. He also said people in flood affected areas would receive all required assistance.
Chairing a meeting at Kolhapur to review the flood situation, he instructed officials to ensure food, drinking water, healthcare and shelter facilities are provided to the people. He also asked the various agencies like the Army, Navy, Air Force, NDRF and SDRF, to coordinate their rescue efforts.
He said evacuation and saving people’s lives were the government’s top priority. He asked officials to ensure that medicines are stocked, and if needed, additional medical teams will be sent from Mumbai.
Karnataka water to release water
Meanwhile, Karnataka has agreed to release five lakh cusecs of water from the Almatti dam, located downstream on the Krishna river, an official from Fadnavis’ office told PTI.
Fadnavis spoke to his Karnataka counterpart B.S. Yediyurappa, who agreed to release five lakh cusecs of water from the dam. This will help bring down the water level in the flood-affected areas in Western Maharashtra.
The official said Union home minister Amit Shah also spoke to Fadnavis and assured all help from the Centre.
Till Wednesday, around 1.32 lakh flood-affected people in Pune region (comprising districts of Pune, Satara, Solapur, Sangli and Kolhapur) were shifted to safer places.
“The road communication between Sangli and Kolhapur and between Kolhapur and Belgaum (in Karnataka) has been affected,” he said, adding that people should avoid travelling on Mumbai-Bengaluru national highway (NH 4).