State under a wet blanket

NAGPUR: The army has been called out to aid rescue operations in the flooded Konkan region of western Maharashtra, especially Raigad district, where two people were killed in a landslide and over 1,000 people have already been evacuated.

Mahad town in Raigad was under five feet of water due to the downpour since late Friday. Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara in the Konkan region are also experiencing heavy rainfall. Highways in the region have been badly affected and traffic has been stalled at several points.

Along the entire Konkan coast, fishermen have been asked to not venture out to sea till Sunday. The meteorological department has predicted heavy rains in the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of north Maharashtra also in the next two days. “There is no indication of rains stopping. We have to be careful and have asked for the army to help us,” Secretary, Relief and Rehabilitation, Ramesh Kumar told DNA.

“Two hundred people have been evacuated in Mahad in Ratnagiri, 200 in Raigad district and 130 in Sangli.”