Satara News: Mahabaleshwar's Venna Lake Overflows, Pune-Bikaner Express Extended to Miraj

Mahabaleshwar tourist spots have been experiencing continuous rainfall over the past few days. Venna Lake has reached its capacity and started overflowing from its spillway, solving the water problem for residents of both Mahabaleshwar and Pachgani. Mahabaleshwar has also collectively received 1,515mm (55 inches) of rainfall till Saturday from June 1.

The rain has been splashing in the area since the second week of June. n the Koyna, Navaja, and Mahabaleshwar areas under the Koyna Dam in Patan taluka, rains have resumed. Today, intermittent showers have been observed in the dam area.

Currently, the Koyna dam holds a total water storage of 34.99 TMC, with 29.87 TMC usable. Meanwhile, thousands of tourists are arriving at Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani, Tapola and Kaas plateau to witness nature’s beauty at its best. The rush of tourists is maximum on weekends. With a capacity of 105.25 TMC, the dam still needs 70.26 TMC to reach full capacity.

Pune-Bikaner Exp extended to Miraj

The Pune-Bikaner-Pune weekly express has been extended to Miraj, offering direct connectivity to Bikaner from Miraj. This development brings significant convenience to passengers from Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur districts, and southern villages of Pune district in Maharashtra. Previously requiring separate tickets for Miraj-Pune and Pune-Bikaner journeys, the extension now eliminates this need, fulfilling demands raised by Gopal Tiwari of the Pune Divisional Railway Advisory Committee.

The train departs Bikaner every Monday at 7:30am, reaching Miraj on Tuesday at 1:45pm, and departs Miraj on Tuesday at 2:25pm, arriving in Bikaner on Wednesday at 8:40pm, stopping at key stations like Karad, Satara, and Lonand along the route.