Heavy rainfall in Maharashtra forces release of water from Khadakwasla Dam-Pune, waterlogging in Mumbai
A girl enjoys the high tides lashing at the Marine drive, in Mumbai on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Due to continuous rainfall in the catchment area of Khadakwasla Dam, the dam reached its full capacity on July 25.
Also Read:Maharashtra rains LIVE updates
As per information from the District Information Office, the Pune administration increased the speed and released the water into the Mutha River on Thursday at 6 a.m. at a rate of 40,000 cusecs.
Earlier on Thursday, at 4 a.m., water was released at a speed of 27203 cusecs.
An alert has been issued to the residents living along the riverbanks to be careful. Additionally, due to heavy rains in Pune on Wednesday night, water entered the houses and buildings located in Ekta Nagri and Vitthal Nagar areas.
The Pune Fire Department has brought boats to evacuate the people from the residences. Additionally, the District Information Office has also predicted gusty winds at the rate of 50 to 60 km per hour likely to occur in isolated places over Palghar, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and moderate ran in Kolhapur and the Ghat areas of Pune in the next three hours.
Orders have been given by District Magistrate Suhas Diwas to keep the schools in Pune closed as the Indian Meteorological Department has issued a red alert in Pune city, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Bhor, Velha, Maval, Mulshi, Haveli and the Khadakwasla areas.
Advisories have also been issued to the public to stay indoors and venture out only if necessary.
Additionally, the Indian Meteorological Department issued a red alert for Maharashtra on Thursday and has predicted extremely heavy rainfall.
On Wednesday, an orange alert has also been issued in the state warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall (115.6 to 204.4 mm) from July 26 to July 27 in Maharashtra.
An orange alert was also issued for Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg districts in Maharashtra’s Konkan region.
On Thursday, the Brihan Mumbai Metropolitan Council (BMC) said that on Thursday and Friday, there will be moderate to heavy rain in Mumbai city and suburbs. There is a possibility of very heavy rainfall at isolated places. Occassional gusty winds reaching 50-60 kmph is also very likely. The average rainfall recorded from 8 a.m. on July 24 till 8 a.m. July 25: 44mm in Mumbai city, 90mm in eastern suburbs and 88mm in western suburbs.
On Thursday, High Tide of 4.64 metre is expected at 2:51 p.m. and a low tide of 1 metre is expected at 9 p.m.
Downpour disrupts public transport services in Mumbai
The Andheri Subway in Mumbai has been closed for vehicular movement following waterlogging from the persistent rainfall.
The downpours have brought back woes for Mumbai and the suburbs, with waterlogging reported from several low-lying areas in the city.
The heavy rainfall overnight has disrupted some public transport services causing inconvenience to countless commuters.
The forecast indicates the possibility of very heavy rainfall in isolated places. Occasional gusty winds reaching 50-60 kmph are also very likely.
As per the BMC, Vihar Lake, one of the 7 lakes supplying water to the entire Mumbai metropolitan area, started overflowing at around 3.50 a.m. today. The full storage capacity of Vihar Lake is 2,769.8 crore litres (27,698 million litres).
(with inputs from ANI)
