Pune rains: Deputy CM Ajit Pawar asks district officials to provide all necessary aid to citizens

Ajit Pawar asked the authorities to provide all the necessary assistance to the affected citizens, especially in Khadakwasla and Pimpri Chinchwad, which are among the worst-hit areas. File Pic

Deputy Chief Minister (CM) Ajit Pawar took stock of the rain situation in the district headquarters as various parts of Pune received heavy rainfall.

He talked about relief measures with the district collector and the disaster management chief, said sources from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Pawar asked the authorities to provide all the necessary assistance to those affected, especially in Khadakwasla and Pimpri Chinchwad, which are among the worst-hit areas. He also directed the administration as well as the disaster relief system to be vigilant.

The citizens of Pune City, Pimpri Chinchwad and the rural areas of the district have been asked to take the necessary precautions and contact the nearest administrative system immediately in case of an emergency. They have also been asked to avoid leaving their homes.

Speaking to ANI on the heavy rainfall situation, Pune District Collector Suhas Diwase said, "It is raining heavily in the hilly areas of Pune in the Western Ghats. We have declared a holiday for all schools, and colleges and we are monitoring the situation and appealed to the industrial establishments also to declare an off for their employees today, as in the next three hours, we are expecting heavy to moderately heavy rains in the Pune region."

Incessant rains caused severe waterlogging in Pune and Kolhapur and brought normal life to a standstill.

"One person died while another was injured in a rockslide at Adharwadi village in Pune rural. Three people are also feared trapped in a landslide in Dasve village in Lavasa city. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has begun the search and rescue operations. In Pune city, three people died owing to electrocution. The CM and DCM are monitoring the situation. I would like to appeal to citizens not to step out unnecessarily," added Diwase.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the Palghar Collector announced a holiday for all the schools and colleges after the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for the district, predicting the possibility of heavy rain.

In Mumbai, the Vihar Lake, which is one of the seven lakes supplying water to the city, started overflowing at 3.50 am on Thursday. The full storage capacity of the Vihar Lake is 2,769.8 crore litres.

IMD has issued a red alert for Maharashtra on Thursday and has predicted extremely heavy rainfall.

(With ANI inputs)