Dharashiv, Beed hit by severe floods due to cloud burst like rain: 4 dead, 35 airlifted, over 50 rescued by boats

Severe flooding in Maharashtra's Marathwada region has resulted in four deaths, over 35 airlifted, and extensive damage to homes and farms.

Mumbai: At least four people have died, 35 were airlifted, and over 50 people were rescued by boats from several parts of Beed and Dharashiv as the Marathwada region and parts of Solapur faced a cloudburst like situation on Monday.

Dharashiv, Beed hit by severe floods due to cloud burst like rain: 4 dead, 35 airlifted, over 50 rescued by boats

As flood water left several villages and farms inundated, hundreds of homes were damaged, leaving residents stranded on rooftops awaiting rescue teams. Among those who have died is a 70-year-old woman, Devganabai Ware, whose shed in Chincoli village in Bhum taluka was flooded.

The region had already been receiving heavy rainfall in the past few weeks, and following the reports of the severe flooding deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar reviewed the situation and ordered the administration to take immediate measures and airlift people from the affected areas. Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde called the district collectors of Beed, Dharashiv, Latur, Parbhani and Hingoli to review the situation. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis asked the local administration to coordinate with the state water resources department to take necessary steps. A statement from the chief minister’s office read, “The CM is keeping an eye on the situation. He is in contact with the local administration. In addition, he has instructed the Water Resources Department to keep an eye on the situation, take necessary precautions, and maintain constant coordination with district collectors.”

As the Sina, Chandani, Ulka, and Ulpha rivers in Dharashiv swelled in the rain and flooded the villages on their banks, the administration began a massive airlift drive with the help of the military to rescue those who had been forced to seek high ground on their roofs. An officer from the divisional commissioner’s office in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar said, “In Devgaon from Paranda tehsil 35 people were rescued by airlifting them with a helicopter and attempts were going on to air lift four persons from Wadner village.”

The official added that 33 other villagers were reduced by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) using boats. “In Wadegavhan village over 150 villagers have been stuck in flood and the army is trying to rescue them,” the official said.

Among those rescued by the NDRF so far in Beed were 7 from Shirur, 12 from Gevrai, and 15 from Nadur haveli. The official said that in the past 24 hours, at least four people have died due to rain related incidents in Nanded, Latur, and Dharashiv. While primary reports say that 83 homes have been damaged partially, the extent of the damage in Dharashiv will only be known in two-three days once the rains abate, the official added.

An NDRF team from Pune and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) from Dhule have been sent to safely rescue citizens trapped in Pathardi, Shevgaon, Jamkhed, and Karjat tehsils of Ahilyanagar district. In Barshi tehsil of Solapur, an NDRF team has been sent to rescue villagers trapped due to the overflowing Sina and Bhogawati rivers. Many villages in Karmala tehsil were also affected by the flooding. Four villages in Pachora tehsil of Jalgaon are also flooded and a team of the SDRF has been sent for relief and rescue operations since the Hiwara river too is likely to flood.

As per officials from Chhatrapati Shivaji Nagar, a 60-member army team was called in from Ahilyanagar for rescue and relief operations. A helicopter evacuated 28 stranded villagers from Devgaon before returning to base due to bad weather, the official added.

Local heroes (PTI)

According to the police, in the midst of the flooding in Beed, when locals of Takalsingh village in Ashti tehsil spotted a man being swept due to the rainwater, they took matters into their own hands. A group of five youngsters tied ropes around their waists, swam into the floodwaters, and rescued the man safely. The police said that while the man is yet to be identified, he is being treated at the Takalsingh primary health centre.

Rising rivers, warnings issues (PTI)

According to local authorities from Beed, as water levels rise in several rivers, the villages have been cut off from one another, with bridges near Shiral and along the Kada-Dhamangaon highway closed off. With the Kada river along the Ahilyanagar-Beed highway expected to overflow, authorities have issued warnings about traveling on the route.