THE number of deaths due to flooding, landslides and other rain-related incidents in parts of Maharashtra reached 113 on Sunday with one more casualty reported in the last 24 hours, while 100 people were missing after the monsoon fury, the State Government said. So far, 50 people have also been injured in these incidents, the Government said in a statement. On Sunday, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray visited Chiplun, the site of severe flooding in Ratnagiri district of the Konkan region. A group of locals stopped the CM’s convoy and informed him about the problems they were facing following the rain havoc in the area. The Chief Minister interacted with residents, businessmen and shopkeepers, and promised them all help from the State Government to restore normalcy in the area. Thackeray said they will require “central assistance for long-term mitigation measures”, and added that he will tour western Maharashtra on Monday and a comprehensive data of the extent of damages will be prepared. Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane visited Taliye village in Raigad, the site of a massive landslide on Thursday, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked him to submit a report on the damage caused by the rains. Rane said damaged houses would be rebuilt under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana after suggestions are taken from local residents.

 

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Council Pravin Darekar accompanied Rane. A ‘central war room’ has been established at the Department of Military Affairs in the Defence Ministry for close coordination among the three wings of the Armed Forces for flood relief operations in Maharashtra, the Indian Army said on Sunday. With unprecedented rains and resultant overflowing of various rivers, a number of areas in Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Sangli and several other districts of the State have been inundated. Ninety bodies have been retrieved and 34 people are missing following landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in the coastal regions of Maharashtra, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said on Sunday. S N Pradhan, the Director General (DG) of the federal force, tweeted the latest data of its operations being undertaken in Raigad, Ratnagiri and Satara districts of the State. About 150 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been engaged in relief and rescue operations in floods and landslides affected areas across India, as heavy downpour has disrupted normal lives in several States. 34 teams have been deployed in Maharashtra alone. Other than Maharashtra, 8 NDRF teams have been deployed in Telangana, while 7 teams are working in Karnataka. In the last 24 hours, one death was reported from Pune and one person was reported missing from Thane district, the State Government said.

 

The Government said 52 deaths were so far reported in Raigad, 21 in Ratnagiri, 13 in Satara, 12 in Thane, seven in Kolhapur, four in suburban Mumbai, and two each in Sindhudurg and Pune. A total of 875 villages in Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara and Pune were affected by the torrential rains, while 1,35,313 people were evacuated to safer places, it said. Around 2,000 people were lodged at six relief camps in Ratnagiri, the release said. A bridge on the Vashisthi river in Chiplun had earlier got damaged following heavy downpour. Thackeray, while talking to reporters after a review meeting in Chiplun, said the economy was “sluggish” because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We will require Central assistance for long-term mitigation measures. The Central Government has provided assistance by deploying rescue teams from defence forces,” he said. The Chief Minister said he will tour western Maharashtra on Monday and a comprehensive data of the extent of damages will be prepared.

 

“We will provide all assistance,” he assured. Thackeray said there will be no technical difficulty in providing assistance to the affected people. “We have lost everything in the flood. For the last three days, no one came to conduct the panchnama (spot inspection). Now, with the water level receding, we are clearing the debris from our homes and shops. If the officials come later and find our area clean, will they give us compensation?” asked a woman who met the CM. Some residents said had the local administration alerted them about the flood in advance they could have saved 50 per cent of their belongings. “All of us here have lost everything. We could save our lives only and nothing else. Our shops are not insured,” a shopkeeper said.