Floods: Kolhapur reeling, 90 villages cut off

Even as the rain fury in Mumbai and most other parts of Maharashtra subsided, the situation in Kolhapur in western Maharashtra continued to remain grim, prompting district authorities to alert the army.

"The army has been put on alert in view of the floods in the district," an official source said.

The Panchganga river in Kolhapur city touched the 43-feet danger mark, sources told PTI. The water level is increasing at the rate of an inch per hour, they said.

Meanwhile, rescue boats sent by the relief and rehabilitation department have reached Kolhapur. The boats have been sent to the worstaffected Shirol, Nrisimhawadi, Orwad and Takli areas, they said.

Contact with over 90 villages in the district has been lost. Roads connecting Gaganbawda, Panhala, Ratnagiri from Kolhapur are closed for traffic due to heavy rains. Authorities have suspended bus services on 35 routes, they said.

In Mumbai, rail traffic, which had to be suspended for the last two days on the Central and Harbour sections, became almost normal on Thursday with suburban trains running slightly behind schedule but long-distance trains on time, railway sources said.

However, along Maharashtra-Goa coast, the situation is grim, the Met office said.

In east Vidarbha, rain has subsided but in Chandrapur, water from the overflowing Irai river entered Rahmat Nagar in Chandrapur.

Watha, Gond Pipri and Kolgaon in Rajura talukas were cut off from road link.

He said the Wardha river was in spate but water was receding fast. By late noon, the situation was likely to return to normal, he added.

In Nasik rains have subsided since Wednesday evening.

Nasik district had recorded till 8 am 100 mm of rainfall, Dhule 66 mm, Nandurbar 79 mm, Ahmednagar 43.6 mm and Jalgaon district 166.1 mm, official sources said.

Water level in ten dams in Nasik district has increased due to heavy rain in the catchment area, forcing irrigation department to release water from Gangapur dam.

Water level in the Godavari has also increased, but was under control, sources said.

All low-lying areas were inundated and small rivers were also flooded.

As per official sources, Nasik district, comprising 15 tehsil towns recorded a total of 1499.8 mm in 24-hours.