The National Highway section has been closed for the past two days due to floods caused by heavy rains. (file photo)
KOLHAPUR: The Pune-Bengaluru National Highway in Kolhapur can be opened till Sunday afternoon only for heavy vehicles carrying emergency supplies like food, milk, petrol and diesel.
The National Highway route has been closed for the last two days due to floods caused by heavy rains.
Meanwhile, in the past four days, the death toll in landslides in Wai, Mahabaleshwar and Patan areas of Satara district has risen to 28 and 20 people are still missing, officials in Satara district said.
Satara District Collector Shekhar Singh said, “We have sought one more rescue team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to assist the existing three teams to expedite the rescue operations.”
Officials of the Kolhapur district collector’s office said the situation on the highway is being reviewed and the possibility of opening the section for emergency heavy vehicles is being considered by noon.
However, the highway will remain closed for private passenger vehicles.
Around 2,000 trucks are stranded on the highway.
A portion of the Panchganga river flowing along the highway has flooded the highway.
“The stretch between Shiroli and the city entrance on the outskirts of Kolhapur is still under about 2 feet of water,” Assistant Inspector of Shiroli Police said.
A total of 17 out of 25 state highways passing through Kolhapur district, including those going to Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Goa and Belgaum, are closed for the past two days due to landslides and falling of trees at various places.
However, Amboli Ghat, which connects Kolhapur to Sawantwadi and further to Goa, has remained unaffected so far, officials said.
Rivers, dams, floods in Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara
Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara are among the worst-affected districts as the water level of Krishna and Panchganga rivers rose above the danger mark due to heavy rains last week and many adjoining areas, including the adjoining tributaries of these two rivers. There was flooding in the areas.
“The rain activity has reduced significantly in the last 36 hours in these three districts, but apart from the catchment areas of various dams, heavy inflow of water from small tributaries and canals has ensured that the water level remains above the danger mark. It has happened and we expect the situation to stabilize in the next few hours,” Sangli district collector Abhijit Choudhary said on Sunday.
At 9 am on Sunday, the water level of Krishna river at Irwin bridge in Sangli city measured 54.4 feet and was well above the danger mark of 45 feet. As of now, the water level of Krishna river is rising by 1 inch every hour, officials said.
Similarly, the level of Panchganga river at Kolhapur was measured at 52.01 feet, while its danger mark at Rajaram Barrage at 9 am on Sunday was 43 feet.
The Koyna dam, one of the largest irrigation projects on the Krishna river in Satara district, was 84% full and water was being released at a rate of 31,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) while the river was flowing upstream from the catchment areas. At the rate of 90,000 cusecs on Sunday around 7.30 am.
The water released from the Koyna Dam at Satara and the Panchganga at Kolhapur meets at a confluence point at Nrisinghwadi in Sangli district from where it flows downstream into areas in neighboring Karnataka.
Officials said 3.50 lakh cusecs of water was released from the Almatti dam in Karnataka on Sunday morning.
The catchment areas of Mahabaleshwar, Navaja and Koyna of Koyna dam recorded 173 mm, 110 mm and 108 mm of rain during the 24 hours ended at 9 am on Sunday.
In Kolhapur district, 8,720 cusecs of water is being released from Chandoli Dam on the Varna river, a tributary of Krishna. All these have contributed to the rise in river waters in Sangli and Kolhapur, officials said.
The Radhanagari dam in Kolhapur district has achieved 98.33 per cent of its storage capacity and the authorities have decided against discharging the water until the storage reaches 100% capacity. The water coming out of this dam flows into the Panchganga river till the confluence of Nrisinghwadi.
Officials said that nearly 90% of Nrsinghwadi village in Sangli district has been submerged and the water level at the confluence site is 72 feet against the danger mark of 68 feet.
evacuation, rescue and relief
The NDRF has evacuated 1.25 lakh people from flood-affected areas of Walwa, Miraj and Palus in rural Sangli and parts of Sangli city, which have been badly hit by the rains.
Kolhapur District Guardian Minister Satej Patil said, “In the last two days, around 67,000 people have been evacuated from the Sangam site of Nrisinghwadi to safer places. Seven teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and a 70-member Army contingent have been rescued. and is engaged in relief work.In fact, an army team is stationed at the Sangam site.
Patil said, “The casualties due to floods and incidents related to rain in the last two days have gone up to seven. Five of these people died on Friday and two others on Saturday.
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