Heavy rains wreaked havoc in Maharashtra's Pune, where at least four persons died in rain-related incidents on Thursday, while several houses and residential societies in low-lying areas in the city were inundated, following which people are being evacuated, officials said.
During his tour of the district, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said as a precautionary measure, Army teams have been deployed at Ekta Nagar in Sinhagad Road, while NDRF personnel are also in the area.
He also said rescue operations are underway at the site of a landslide in Lavasa in which some bungalows have been affected and three persons are feared trapped.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a 'red alert' for Pune district and asked people to take precautions. Schools and colleges in most parts of the district have declared a holiday in view of the heavy rainfall warning, officials said.
Pune city and other parts of the district, including Velha, Mulshi, Bhor talukas and the catchments areas of several dams, including Khadakwasla, have been witnessing incessant rains since Wednesday night.
In the city, housing societies in the low-lying areas, such as Sinhagad Road, Bavdhan, Baner and Deccan Gymkhana, witnessed flooding and inundation and efforts have been launched by the fire brigade and disaster management cell of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to evacuate the stranded people, the officials said.
"Currently there is no flooding in Sinhagad Road and all those who needed to be shifted to safety have been moved. Arrangements have been made for meals, clothes and other relief materials for those who have been evacuated," Pawar said.
Queried about residents of Sinhagad Road complaining about not being informed about water being released from Khadakwasla Dam, he said the process started early Thursday morning.
The water release and heavy rains aggravated the situation but deployment of relief mechanisms was done in advance and people were taken to safety, Pawar asserted.
Pune district collector Suhas Diwase said that in the wake of heavy rains in the Khadakwasla dam's catchment area, water has been released from the reservoir.
"As the catchment areas of Khadakwasla dam has been witnessing incessant rains, water is being released at over 35,000 cusec and it will further increase to 45,000 cusec. Due to the water discharge, several low lying areas along the Mutha river witnessed inundation and flooding," he said. Later in the afternoon, Pawar said water from Khadakwasla reservoir was being released at 35000 cusecs but now it has been reduced to 15000 cusecs.
"I have told officials from the irrigation department that if they want to release the water from Khadakwasla, they can do it before it gets dark. If the water release is increased after it gets dark, those living in the low lying areas along the Mutha river may have to suffer hardships.," he said.
"If we can empty the reservoir to some extent and if there are rains during the night, the reservoir will have capacity to store the water. The capacity of the Khadakwasla reservoir is around 3 TMC. Instructions have also been given to release water through the canals at different dams in Pune district," said Pawar.
Mulshi Dam is almost filling up and officials have been asked to use the water for power generation, the Deputy CM said. Coordination is underway with the district administration of Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara to monitor the rain situation, while NDRF and SDRF teams are at critical spots as a precautionary measure, Pawar asserted.