Heavy rainfall in parts of Marathwada; IAF rescues stranded people, Army unit in Ashti taluka

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Sept 15 (PTI) Eleven people stranded in a flooded area in rain-soaked Beed district of Maharashtra were rescued by an IAF chopper on Monday, while Army personnel have been deployed in Ashti taluka for flood relief work, officials said. As many as 51 people are awaiting evacuation in various villages, and an NDRF team has been mobilised after heavy rains lashed Beed district in Marathwada on Sunday night, leading to flooding of low-lying areas.

"Eleven members of a family were stranded in Sheri Khurd hamlet near Kada village in Ashti taluka. They were evacuated on Monday by an Air Force helicopter summoned from Nasik," a senior official told PTI.

An Army unit from Pune is conducting flood relief work in Ashti taluka, the official added.

Heavy rains have soaked five of eight districts in Marathwada, sending several rivers into spate and inundating several areas.

Keshegaon circle in Dharashiv district recorded the highest rainfall of 105 mm in the 24 hours ending at 8:30 AM on Monday, officials said.

An orange alert has been issued for Beed and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, while a yellow alert has been sounded for Nanded, Latur, Dharashiv, Parbhani, Hingoli, and Jalna for Monday.

Heavy rainfall was recorded in 32 revenue circles across Beed, Latur, Dharashiv, Parbhani, and Hingoli districts.

A day earlier, an intense wet spell affected seven villages in Hingoli district. Two women from Gunda village of Vasmat drowned in flowing water and died, the official said.

Copious rains have boosted the water stock in eleven major irrigation projects in the region to 94.36 per cent. The water storage stood at 89.32 per cent on the same day last year.

Water is discharged at the rate of 1.51 lakh cusecs from ten irrigation projects, with the highest discharge of 91,854 cusecs underway from the Vishnupuri dam in Nanded, officials added.

Similarly, the water discharge from the Manjara irrigation project in Beed district has been increased to 17,333 cusecs in five hours on Monday. The discharge from the Majalgaon dam on the Sindphana river has been increased from 38,651 cusecs to 71,248 cusecs in four hours.

Nine gates of the dam will be lifted to 2 metres to facilitate the release of water, an official added. PTI AW NSK