Pune: 400 People Evacuated as Swollen Mutha River Floods Housing Societies
Flooding Disrupts City Life: Over 4,500 Pimpri Chinchwad Residents EvacuatedÂ
Water release from Khadakwasla Dam and heavy rainfall leads to significant flooding in Pune’s low-lying areas.
The district administration in Pune evacuated at least 400 people from low-lying areas alongside the Mutha River on Sinhgad Road on Thursday. The evacuation was necessitated by the release of water from Khadakwasla Dam following relentless rainfall, said officials.
Residents of several housing societies woke up on Thursday morning to find their homes submerged in four to five feet of water. This flooding was mainly due to the release of 35,000 cusecs of water from Khadakwasla Dam starting at 6 am. The situation worsened as heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of Pune’s four major dams continued, forcing authorities to increase the water release to 40,000 cusecs by 6 pm.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that Lavasa received 450 mm of rainfall and Tamhini recorded 556 mm in the 24 hours ending at 8:30 pm on Thursday.
Various localities, including Swami Vivekananda Society in Warje, Futera Society, Shivne, Sadguru Society, Ekta Nagar, Sarita Society, Pulachi Wadi, Patil Estate, and Chandtara Chowk, experienced severe flooding. Sinhgad Road was particularly hard hit, with many housing societies in proximity to the Mutha riverbed inundated.
Rescue operations commenced early in the morning, involving at least 20 officials and 200 firemen. In Ekta Nagar, which was severely affected, boats, life jackets, and ring buoys were utilized for the rescue operations. By 11 am, a 35-member team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) arrived in Ekta Nagar to assist in the rescue efforts.
The Indian Army also dispatched a rescue and relief column to Ekta Nagar, comprising infantry troops, an engineer task force, and medical personnel, all equipped with rescue boats and essential healthcare services. The Southern Command of the Indian Army has kept additional columns on standby, ready to be deployed as the situation evolves. “The Indian Air Force is also on standby for any likely contingencies,” read a statement from the Indian Army.
Suhas Diwase, Pune District Collector, stated, “We have got two columns of the Indian Army. One will be deployed at low-lying areas and another on standby. Due to heavy downpour in the catchment areas of all dams, water levels increased gradually. Consequently, the release from the dam also increased, resulting in a flood-like situation in many low-lying parts of the city.”
The Pune district administration has identified five areas for close monitoring over the next 48 hours: Ekta Nagar on Sinhgad Road, Sangam Parisar in Shivaji Nagar, Shanti Nagar slum area near Hari Bridge, Dattawadi area near Dandekar Bridge and Vishrantwadi. Additionally, public entry has been banned at various tourist spots in the district for the next 48 hours.
Maval-Mulshi Sub-Divisional Officer (SDPO) Surendra Navale has enforced a tourist ban in the Maval-Mulshi area from 8 am on July 25 until 8 am on July 29, aiming to ensure public safety amidst the severe weather conditions.
