Monsoon Rains: Over 2,000 people shifted to safety in Gadchiroli; 300 families unable to cook for 4 days

In view of the heavy rainfall warning in Maharashtra's Pune district, authorities on Wednesday issued prohibitory orders at all tourist spots till July 17. District Collector Rajesh Deshmukh issued an order under section 144 of the CrPc prohibiting the assembly of five or more persons at tourist and trekking spots for the next four days.

Forts, historical places, waterfalls and other tourist places where section 144 has been invoked include forts of Sinhagad, Lohgad, Rajgad, and Visapur, along with Andarban trek, Rajmachi trek and other famous spots that are frequented by tourists and trekkers.
Also, tourists will not be allowed to venture near waterfalls located around the Pune district, as per the order.

​Gujarat got some respite from heavy rains on Wednesday with nearly 24,000 out of over 31,000 people who had been shifted to safer locations returning home, officials said.

With 14 persons dying in rain-related incidents in the 24 hours till Wednesday morning, the death toll of such incidents since July 7 rose to 31, Disaster Management Minister Rajendra Trivedi said. But no fresh casualties were reported later in the day, officials said.

As the catchment areas of Cauvery river in neighbouring Karnataka are receiving heavy rains, the water level in Mettur dam in Salem district breached the 105 feet mark on Wednesday. The full reservoir level in the dam, also known as Stanley Reservoir, is at 120 feet. The water level is likely to increase by another two feet late in the night, as inflow is increasing fast throughout the day. The level stood at just over 100 feet on Tuesday morning and there was an increase of over four feet on a single day, official sources said.

All schools and colleges to remain closed in Navsari on July 13 in wake of rainfall and flood-like situation

All schools and colleges in Navi Mumbai have been ordered to remain closed on Thursday in view of the possibility of torrential rains.

(With inputs from Dinesh Mourya)

Due to heavy rains and flood situations, all schools, colleges and private establishments/offices will remain closed in Gadchiroli district till July 16. All essential services will continue.

As many as 200 families were shifted to safer locations in central Maharashtra's Nanded district on Wednesday as the level of the Painganga river was rising owing to incessant rains, officials said. Road links to 26 villages in the district have been cut off due to floods, they added.

The water of the Painganga began to enter low-lying areas along its banks following heavy rains for the last three days, and as a precaution, the administration shifted 200 families in Kinwat tehsil to safer places, said Sub Divisional Officer Kirti Kumar Pujari.

The road between Nanded and Kinwat was flooded and hence closed for traffic, another official said. Nanded collector Dr Vipin Itankar contacted the collector of the neighbouring Nirmal district of Telangana in view of the heavy rainfall in the Godavari valley, he said.

Nearly 300 families in a village in Maharashtra's Hingoli district have been unable to cook their meals since last four days after flood destroyed their food grains and other belongings. Heavy rains near the Asana river led to flooding in Kurunda village under Vasmat taluka in Hingoli and nearby areas on Saturday and Sunday.

When contacted, a local revenue official said the flood water has receded now and the affected people will be provided an assistance of Rs 5,000 each.

Kurunda sarpanch (head) Raju Ingole told PTI on Wednesday that flood water had entered more than 1,100 houses in the village, damaging the food grains and other belongings of the residents.

All the schools in Pune city as well as in the neighbouring Pimpri Chinchwad area will remain closed on Thursday due to a heavy rain forecast, officials said. Pune city and the district have been witnessing heavy downpour for the last few days and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall on Thursday too.

"As heavy rainfall is predicted by the weather department, a holiday has been declared on Thursday (July 14) for all civic-run, private, aided and non-aided primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in Pune municipal limits," said a release from the municipal corporation's education department.

A 25-year-old man got swept away in Mutha river, while his friend who was stranded on the bridge was rescued by the police and fire brigade in Maharashtra's Pune on Wednesday, an official said.

At the time of the incident, Ashish Rathod (26) and Nikhil Kaushik (25) were crossing the bridge connecting Nanded city and Shivne, he said. The bridge over Mutha river was submerged in due to flooding amid heavy rains, he said.

As many as 1,920 people from 19 villages have been shifted to safer locations in the last three days as rains pound eastern Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, officials said on Wednesday.

The India Meteorological Department's (IMD) Nagpur office has issued an `orange alert' warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall for the district. Gadchiroli district recorded 97.1 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending 8.30 am, the IMD said.

Incessant rain and floods continued to wreak havoc in parts of Telangana on Wednesday as several villages and some towns were inundated by overflowing water bodies.

The North Telangana region was reeling under the monsoon fury with water flowing over roads, cutting off remote villages while normal life remained paralysed.

Inundation of villages and parts of some towns in the worst affected districts of Adilabad, Nirmal, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial and Jagtiyal have forced hundreds of families to move to safer places.

As rains continue to wreak havoc in different parts of Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday held a meeting with Deputy Commissioners of coastal districts, which have been worst affected, in Udupi to assess the situation and to take stock of the rescue and relief operations.

Rains have continued in several parts of Malnad and coastal Karnataka causing flood like situation, also there have been several incidents of land-slide and sea-erosion.

I have directed the district officials to keep emergency services on alert, to ensure that no untoward incident occurs and assistance reaches the affected people in time: Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde on monsoon rains

Parts of south Gujarat and Kutch-Saurashtra regions received very heavy showers in last 24 hours leaving 14 people dead, while over 31,000 were evacuated so far this rainy season, officials said on Wednesday.

Three national highways in Kutch, Navsari and Dang districts were blocked due to damage caused by rains. Fifty one state highways and over 400 panchayat roads have also been damaged, state Disaster Management Minister Rajendra Trivedi told reporters.

Authorities in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand have set up an automatic weather station at Kedarnath for getting round the clock precise weather updates from the Himalayan temple town, officials said on Wednesday.

The weather station was established with the help of scientists from IIT-Kanpur, they said.

The weather conditions in Kedarnath, which was the epicentre of the 2013 deluge in which hundreds of people died, are precarious changing every minute.

At least 200 people, including children and women were rescued and shifted to safer places in Madhya Pradesh's flood-hit Harda district.

Heavy rain since Tuesday caused flooding in the district and more than 70 houses got submerged.

The Highway connecting Bhopal-Betul has been closed due to the overflowing Mancha river.

Several teams have been deployed to rescue people caught in floods and take them to safe places, the chief minister's office said on Wednesday.

At least 10 houses were damaged due to a landslide in Gajapati district while major roads in Malkangiri and Kalahandi districts had been inundated and damaged due to overnight downpour even as the IMD forecast heavy to very rainfall in nine southern Odisha districts in next 48 hours.

This apart, many areas in Odisha were battered by heavy to very heavy rain, leading to water logging in many places, the Met office said on Tuesday explaining that this was due to a low pressure system (Lopar) forming on Monday.

Parts of Delhi gauged light rain on Wednesday morning and such short spells of rain are likely over the next two days, weather forecasters said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert, warning of moderate rain or thundershowers in some areas of the city in the morning.

The Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, gauged 2.1 mm of rainfall in 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Wednesday.

Intense to very intense rainfall is expected in Mumbai, Kalyan, Thane and Navi Mumbai till 1 pm today, says  India Meteorological Department (IMD).

One person dead, two people seriously injured in the landslide incident in the Vasai area of Palghar district; rescue operation underway, says the District Collector.

An incident of the landslide was reported in Vasai area of Palghar district. Many people feared trapped along with houses being damaged. 
Two people rescued so far: Palghar Collector

An orange alert has been sounded in Mumbai, Thane and parts of Raigad and Palghar today as the weatherman forecast heavy rains.

A wet day lies ahead for Mumbaikars as moderate-intensity rainfall is likely to continue for the next two to three over the city.

Three residents of Madhya Pradesh died and many others are missing after their Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) was swept away from a flooded bridge in Maharashtra's Nagpur district on Tuesday. The deceased were residents of Betul district in MP.

The incident occurred in Nanda Gomukh village under the Kelwad police station limits, some 40 km from the Nagpur district headquarters, an official said.

A house on a hillock in Ambika Nagar area of Thane city was damaged after the soil beneath it caved in amid heavy rain, a civic official said.

No was injured in the incident, Thane Municipal Corporation regional disaster management cell chief Avinash Sawant told PTI.

Four people died in a mudslide that took place at an underpass construction site near Pradhankhanta railway station in Dhanbad

Some trains were diverted/cancelled at night as agitation took place after the incident. But the line is clear now and train services resumed/restored on this route (Pradhankhanta- Dhanbad- Gaya route) at 5:25 am: PRO, Dhanbad Division, East Central Railway zone