Heavy rain: Situation still grim in Karnataka, Maharashtra; Goa on alert

Heavy rain has continued to batter several states across the country on Thursday. While Karnataka and Maharashtra have been reeling under floods, the government in Goa is on alert for heavy rains. However, the situation in Odisha is improving as a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal weakened.

Karnataka

Nearly 43,000 people have so far been evacuated from flood-hit and rain-affected areas of Karnataka, where the monsoon fury has left nine people dead, authorities said on Thursday.

The worst-hit was Belagavi district, where six persons have lost their lives, while 40,180 people have been evacuated.

Two persons lost their lives in rain-related incidents in Uttara Kannada district, from where 3,088 people have been evacuated till date, and one in Shivamogga, according to official figures. Nearly 17,000 people are taking shelter in relief camps.

Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa is currently camping in Belagavi supervising relief and rescue operations.

On Thursday, he visited rain-affected Shivajinagar and Gandhinagar areas of Belagavi.

“Releases from reservoirs are well coordinated and as per protocol to prevent inundation of downstream areas. The villages likely to be affected due to heavy discharge have been identified and necessary precautions taken,” an official statement said.

A total of 43,858 people from affected districts in northern, coastal and Malnad regions have so far been evacuated by joint rescue teams comprising Fire and Emergency department, State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force and Army, official sources said.

Maharashtra

The flood situation due to heavy rains worsened in western Maharashtra's Sangli with water entering the district prison, forcing authorities to shift prisoners to its upper floor, an official said on Thursday.

Following heavy downpour in Sangli in the last few days, the district jail premises, housing around 370 inmates, got inundated on Wednesday.

"Currently, there is nearly knee-level water in barracks on the ground floor. We have shifted all inmates to barracks on the first floor. So far, there is no need to shift the inmates out of the jail," Additional Director General (Prisons) Sunil Ramanand told PTI.

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, Pune divisional commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said.

Sixteen deaths in rain and flood-related incidents were reported from western Maharashtra in the last one week, as the situation continued to remain grim in Sangli and Kolhapur, another official said on Wednesday.

Over 53,000 people were evacuated in Sangli, 51,000 in Kolhapur and 13,000 in Pune till Wednesday, Mhaisekar said.

"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).

In Solapur district, 2,500 people were moved to safer places in the temple town of Pandharpur after the discharge of water from the overflowing Ujani dam increased, he said.

In Satara, the flood situation was grim in Wai, Karad and Mahabaleshwar hill town and 6,000 people were evacuated.

Teams of the Territorial Army, Navy and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were conducting rescue operations in Kolhapur and Sangli, the official said.

Goa

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said the state government is on "high alert" in view of the forecast of heavy rainfall in next few days, and people have been advised not to venture into the sea.

Heavy rains lashed several parts of Goa, including the state capital Panaji, on Thursday morning.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) office in Panaji on Wednesday predicted heavy-to-very-heavy rainfall in the coastal state for next couple of days.

"Heavy rains are likely to continue for another two to three days, so we appeal to people to avoid venturing into the sea. A high alert has been sounded along the coast and people, including tourists and fishermen, have been asked to stay away from the waters," Sawant told reporters.

He said several villages in Bardez, Pernem and Bicholim talukas of North Goa district were flooded after water was released from Tillari dam following heavy showers in its catchment areas.

The dam is located in North Goa along the state's border with Maharashtra.

"Sal village in Bicholim taluka was the worst affected as several houses were inundated there. The villagers have been shifted to safer places by the disaster management department team," Sawant said.

The water resources department's chief engineer was in touch with officials guarding the Tillari dam to get all necessary information about the release of water from it, he added.

Odisha

The situation in rain-battered south Odisha, where fears of flooding loomed large, eased on Thursday as intensity of rainfall subsided and water started receding from submerged areas, officials said.

The deep depression which crossed Odisha-West Bengal coasts close to Balasore on Wednesday afternoon, triggering heavy rain in most parts of Odisha, has weakened into a depression, the meteorological centre said.

It lay centred over northeast Chhattisgarh and its neighbourhood and is likely to move west-northwestwards and weaken further gradually, said H.R. Biswas, director of the Bhubaneswar Met Centre.

Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marndi said that the situation was under control in all the rain-affected districts, including Malkangiri and Rayagada.

Five districts of the state had recorded an average rainfall of more than 100mm in the 24 hours ended at 8.30am on Thursday, he said.

While Jharsuguda had recorded 207.2mm rainfall, Kalahandi received 150.7mm rainfall, Bolangir 117.2mm, Jajpur 115.4mm and Koraput 110.6mm rainfall during the period.

Two blocks in Kalahandi district had recorded rainfall of over 300mm.

Seven teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) have been deployed—one each in the districts of Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Kandhamal and Kalahandi, the minister said.

With heavy downpour lashing several parts of Odisha, a flood-like situation had emerged on Wednesday and road and rail traffic was disrupted in some areas of the southern region, the officials said.

With the intensity of rainfall decreasing, the situation in Malkangiri, Rayagada, Koraput, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, Gajapati and Ganjam districts has improved considerably, they said.

The IMD forecast heavy rainfall in several districts including Sundargarh, Bargarh, Nuapada, Bolangir, Kalahandi and Naharangpur till Friday.

Though the water level in several rivers in Malkangiri started receding, water was still flowing over many low-lying roads and bridges in the district, disrupting road connectivity, officials said.

Many areas of Malkangiri still remained cut off from the rest of the state and all the schools in the district have been ordered to remain closed on Thursday, Malkangiri Collector Manish Agarwal said.

Nearly 5,000 people in vulnerable and low-lying areas have been evacuated and shifted to shelter centres and camps, he said.

Train services remained affected for the second day on Thursday, due to washing away of ballast of 100 metres of tracks between Daikalu and Ambadola stations in Rayagada-Titlagarh section.

A number of trains have been cancelled, diverted and partially cancelled on the route on Thursday also, a railway official said.

While the intensity of rain is likely to decrease further from Friday, the IMD advised fishermen in the coastal areas of Odisha and West Bengal not to venture into the sea till August 10.