Maharashtra rains: Heavy rains, lightening kill 13; over 40 people rescued

At least 13 people died in heavy showers floods and lightning in parts of Maharashtra with the Marathwada region bearing the brunt of rain fury while more than 40 stranded villagers were rescued after the NDRF was mobilised and helicopters were deployed officials said on TuesdayBesides more than 200 cattle perished and a number of houses were damaged in torrential rains that lashed Marathwada on Sunday and Monday causing havoc in a region which is considered a perennially droughtplagued area they saidParts of the region and Mumbai received heavy showers on Tuesday alsoThe India Meteorological Department IMD has forecast extremely heavy rains at a few places in Marathwada Mumbai and other parts of the coastal Konkan region of Maharashtra in the next 24 hoursThe Marathwada region in central Maharashtra which faced rain fury comprises eight districts Aurangabad Latur Osmanabad Parbhani Nanded Beed Jalna and HingoliHeavy rainfall in catchment areas of the Manjara dam forced authorities to open all 18 gates of the reservoir to discharge water on Tuesday which led to flooding in some villages in Beed district while an alert was sounded in some neighbouring districts the officials saidThe local administration opened all 18 gates of the Manjara dam and 11 gates of the Majalgaon dam resulting in discharge of 78397 cusec 80534 cusec water from them respectively they saidAlso read Maharashtra 10 dead after heavy rains in MarathwadaAn official from the disaster management department said in Mumbai that 13 people have died due to heavy rains and lightning in parts of Maharashtra while 136 others have received injuriesOf these 13 deaths 12 were reported from Marathwada and Vidarbha regions and one from North Maharashtras Nashik district the official saidOf the 12 deaths three were reported from Yavatmal district in Vidarbha two each from Beed Osmanabad Parbhani Marathwada and one each from Jalna Latur Marathwada and Buldhana Vidarbha he saidIn Nashik district a lightning strike killed one person and injured four others the official saidIn Yavatmal district one person died and three others were missing after a state transport bus got swept away while crossing a flooded bridge on Tuesday morning he saidThe incident took place around 8 am at Dahagaon bridge in Umarkhed tehsil when the semiluxury bus of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC was going from Nagpur to NandedThe bus got swept away for about 50 metres while passing through the bridge which was flooded following heavy rains in the area and then overturned the official saidWith this 434 people have been killed in rainrelated incidents in the state since June 1 he saidA total of 205 animals including 60 large milch animals were washed away or perished in the heavy rains over the last two daysWith this the total loss of livestock including cows buffaloes and goats has increased up to 1632 As many as 91510 poultry birds are also estimated to be died in heavy rains both figures since June 1 the official saidBesides 28 houses including 25 kutcha thatched ones were partially or fully damaged Among the damaged houses 11 were located in Aurangabad 12 in Beed and five in Jalna another official saidThe heavy rain and flood have damaged crops on several acres of agricultural land in the region he saidSince yesterday Monday the Water Resources Department has been monitoring the situation closely We are trying to minimise the damage Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil told reporters in BeedThe administration will provide all possible relief to people the minister saidNational Disaster Response Force NDRF teams and choppers were deployed in parts of Marathwada to rescue stranded people One team of the State Disaster Response Force has also been deployed in Jalgaon district in North Maharashtra the official saidAn NDRF team a helicopter and boats were deployed on Tuesday to rescue people stranded in barrages villages and on the banks of a river in Latur district which was lashed by heavy rains through the dayWhile 25 out of 40 people stranded on the banks of Manjara river at Sarsa village have been rescued using boats efforts were on to get the rest 15 to safety an official saidHe added that three people stranded on a river basin in Digol Deshmukh area in Renapur tehsil have been also rescuedThree employees of the state Irrigation Department were stuck in the Ghansargaon village barrage and an NDRF team as well as a helicopter have been brought in help local personnel with the rescue effort said District Disaster Management Officer Sakeb UsmaniAs many as 16 persons stranded in floodwaters were rescued by the NDRF using a helicopter in Osmanabad district officials saidSix persons including two children were rescued by the helicopter from Dautpur village in Osmanabad tehsil while ten persons were evacuated from Saundane Amba village in Kalamb tehsilAlso read Maharashtra Jayakwadi Dam over 87 per cent full inflow rises from 15k cusecs to 64k cusecs on TuesdayThe collector of Latur district Prithviraj B P told PTI that a family of three including a child was reportedly stranded at Pohregaon in Renapur tehsil but rescue teams could not reach the spot due to bad weather and low visibilityWe are trying other ways to rescue them The helicopter has halted in Latur It will fly tomorrow morning to rescue them he saidHeavy rains also lashed Mumbai and suburbs on Tuesday but no major waterlogging is reported so far and public transport services including suburban trains also remained unaffected officials saidA civic official said no incident of a major waterlogging was reported despite heavy showers in Mumbai Public transport services are also running normally he addedIts raining heavily in suburban and ghat sections But local and longdistance trains are running as per time table Shivaji Sutar chief public relations officer Central Railway saidMeanwhile Water Resources Minister Patil said it is the governments duty to provide relief to farmers and it will do soHe made the comments at Ambajogai in Beed district while consoling a farmer whose crops have been damaged in rainsPatil is on a Marathwada tour as part of his party NCPs Ratrashwadi Parivar Samvad Yatra and during the tour he reviewed the flood situation in Beed district and interacted with farmersWhile Patil was holding a meeting with party activists at Ambajogai an elderly farmer along with his grandson came to see himThe farmer was carrying a bunch of damaged soybean crop that was damaged due to heavy rains in MarathwadaAfter listening to his plight Patil consoled himDont worry the government is with you Patil told the farmer and added an assessment of crop damage has been orderedThe NCP leader told the farmer that Beeds guardian minister Dhananjay Munde is reviewing the flood situation and damage caused to cropsExtremely heavy rains are expected at a few places in Marathwada Mumbai and other parts of Konkan in the next 24 hours the IMD said in Mumbai on Tuesday eveningK S Hosalikar senior scientist at IMD Mumbai said The remnants of Gulab cyclone will continue to have its impact on Marathwada Madhya Maharashtra Konkan with few places receiving extremely heavy rainfallThe northern parts of Konkan and Madhya Maharashtra will receive more showers on Wednesday as well he saidExtremely heavy rainfall means precipitation of more than 2045 mm in 24 hoursThere is low pressure area of Gulab cyclone now As it is moving towards Arabian sea its effect on Maharashtra will decrease from Thursday he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever