The Hindu : National : Torrential rain batters Konkan coast

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Wednesday, Jul 27, 2005

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National

Torrential rain batters Konkan coast

Mumbai Bureau

Landslips kill 28; over 150 trapped; rescue work hampered

— Photo: PTI

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE: A car moving on a flooded road in Mumbai after a heavy downpour that disrupted normal life on Tuesday.

MUMBAI: Torrential rain along the Konkan coast in Maharashtra in the last two days has left in its wake death and destruction. Over 150 persons are feared trapped under rocks as a result of three landslips and hundreds of villages are submerged and cut off. Authorities have confirmed that six people died in Ratnagiri and 22 in Raigad.

In Jui village in Mahad taluka, Raigad district, (180 km from Mumbai), 150 persons are reportedly buried or trapped under rocks following a huge landslip. With approach roads submerged or washed away, and telecommunications links snapped, rescuers have not been able to reach the village. Sanjay Yadav, Deputy Collector, Raigad district told The Hindu , "These are only reports. We are trying to reach the place but due to heavy rains the area near Jui has become inaccessible. We have had choppers come from Mumbai twice but had to go back as they could not land."

The fate of six other persons at Alore village of Ratnagiri district and of three at Kudhegaon near Poladpur is not known. Two children and some cattle were killed in a landslip at Govele Village in Mandangad Taluka.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said that it was difficult to estimate the loss of life and property in the worst affected Raigad and Ratnagiri districts of the Konkan region for want of communication. The Director General of Police, P.S. Pasricha who flew over the flooded Konkan, told The Hindu that the entire region was under water and most of the villages looked like islands. He said that a thick sheet of water had enveloped the region.

The State has requested assistance from the armed forces. Two helicopters of the Air Force and one of the Navy are being deployed to provide emergency supplies like food and medicine to the villagers.

Mr. Deshmukh said that about 800 passengers were stranded onboard two Konkan Railway trains near Chiplun for nearly a day. Railway services were suspended on Monday following a landslip. He said that arrangements have been made to supply food and water to the railway passengers.

With many stretches of roads, particularly the Mumbai-Goa national highway, washed away, vehicles including passenger buses and coaches were stranded. Traffic on the highway has come to a complete halt because water is flowing above the bridge of the river Jagbudee.

The Chief Minister said that Raigad, which received 285 mm rainfall on Monday got 208.7 mm more on Tuesday, while Ratnagiri received 217.5 mm, and Sindhudurg 100.6 mm. A state government official explained that 65 mm of rain is considered very heavy but what the Konkan had seen is four times more.

The Koyna Dam area recorded 633 mm rain in the past 24 hours, highest in the last 50 years. At Mahabaleshwar, where the river Koyna originates, it rained 380 mm. Mr. Deshmukh said that the project had stopped generating power for it was dangerous to release more water to run its turbines.

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