Tribune News Service
Mumbai, August 8
At least 14 persons were feared drowned and several others missing when a boat carrying those rescued from a flood-hit structure capsized at Brahmnal village in Maharashtra’s Sangli district, police officials said.
The police said over 30 villagers, who had gathered atop a building following heavy rain in Western Maharashtra, were rescued using a boat. “They were being taken to a safer location when the boat capsized,” a police spokesman said.
While several persons swam to safety, 14 of them, including some women and children, drowned. Most of the deceased reportedly belonged to one family.
Later in the day, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased. Over 30 persons have died over the past few days following heavy rain across the state, officials said.
A probe has been ordered into the boat’s capsize. It is still not clear which rescue agency or private body had deployed the boat for rescue operations, officials said.
According to the disaster control room of the Maharashtra Goverment, several parts of western Maharashtra, including Sangli, Kolhapur, Pune, Raigad and Satara, have been witnessing heavy rain for the past few days. “More than 1.5 lakh persons been moved to safer areas,” a state government official said.
CM Devendra Fadnavis, accompanied by cabinet colleagues Chandrakant Patil, Eknath Shinde and Girish Mahajan, conducted aerial surveys of the flood-hit areas.
“The government has declared emergency and doctors are being sent from Mumbai to the flood-hit areas,” Fadnavis said. The state government has sought help of the Central Government to carry out relief and rescue operations, he added. “We have held discussions with Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for more assistance,” Fadnavis said in Kolhapur.
The authorities have deployed around 100 rescue teams of the NDRF, SDRF, Territorial Army, Indian Coast Guard, Army and the Navy in flood-hit areas.
Meanwhile, around 150 families were evacuated in four tehsils of Goa following heavy rains and release of water from Tillari dam on Goa-Maharashtra border.
Tourists and fishermen were advised to stay away from the sea. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the government was on high alert in view of the forecast of heavy rain in the next few days.
9 killed in Karnataka
- Around 44,000 persons have so far been evacuated from flood-hit and rain-affected areas of Karnataka, where the rain fury has left nine dead in the past few days, even as the authorities on Thursday intensified the rescue and relief operations
- The worst-hit was Belagavi district, where six persons have lost their lives, while 40,180 have been evacuated
- Two persons died in Uttara Kannada district, from where 3,088 persons have been shifted to safety, and one in Shivamogga
- CM BS Yediyurappa, camping in Belagavi, appealed to people to donate generously, saying at least Rs 5,000 crore would be needed for relief and rehabilitation of flood-hit
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/2GY3oro
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