Sixth Day of Maharashtra Floods, Govt Slammed

The flood owing to the incessant downpour in Kolhapur, Sangli and parts of Satara continues to wreak havoc in the state even on the sixth day. Even as reports coming from Sangli at 12 pm on Saturday suggested that water in the Krishna river is receding from 57 feet to 54 feet, tributaries of Krishna are still flowing above dangerous level.

Kolhapur city, tehsil village of Shirol, Ichalkaranji as well as Palus, Kadegaon and Walava tehsils of Sangli districts and Karad tehsil of Satara continue to witness waterlogging.  

As Pune-Bengaluru highway is under water, highway connection to Kolhapur is almost cut off. Similar situation has arisen in Konkan – coastal belt of Maharashtra – as well where connectivity is being cut off due to the inundation.  

Meanwhile, 15 teams of Indian Navy and 30 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have reached the region for rescue operations – especially for the people stuck in rural parts of Walava, Shirol, Kadegaon and Ichalkaranji, which are the most affected areas. Fourteen rescue teams left for  Shirol from Kolhapur with boats on Saturday morning. Army choppers are dropping food packets for the people in Kolhapur and Sangli. As per records from Sangli and Kolhapur collectorates, more than 92,000 people have been shifted so far and the operation is still underway

Many NGOs and trusts – based out of Mumbai, Pune, Nasik, Aurangabad, Thane, apart from Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara – are coming forward with relief material for the victims of the flood. They are also appealing to the citizens to donate clothes and blankets for the affected people. 

On the other hand, the state government's incompetence is getting exposed on a daily basis. On Friday, Maharashtra government issued a government resolution (GR) which said that the people who were under water for two days will only get relief. This decision drew flak from across the state and as a result, the state government was forced to revoke it.

On Saturday, another decision by the government said that the victims will have to go to the bank as the relief amount will be transferred into their accounts. This decision was also slammed by one and all and so, the government was forced to change it within two hours. 

Meanwhile, stickers carrying photographs of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and BJP Ichalkaranji MLA Suresh Halavankar on relief material too have kicked up a storm in the state. Halavankar reportedly apologised and passed the buck to the ration shopkeepers. He also said that correction of this mistake will be carried out.

The water lever is expected to be lowered on Sunday following which, relief work is expected to gain speed. Alamatti dam of Karnataka too has started releasing 5 lakh cusecs water, which is helpful for this backwater area. 

Also read: Tamil Nadu: Heavy Rainfall in Coimbatore and Nilgiris, Death Toll Reaches 5