In the wake of warnings issued by the weather bureau of more spells of heavy rains for the next 4-5 days, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday has instructed the district administration to be ready to handle any eventuality and also to conduct timely relief and rescue operations. Shinde said the weather bureau has predicted heavy rains, especially in Konkan, Western Maharashtra, North Maharashtra and Vidarbha, adding that the district administration should keep necessary machinery ready and be prepared for relief and rehabilitation works.
The Chief Minister’s Office said that as a precautionary measure five units of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed one each in Kanjurmarg and Ghatkopar (northeast Mumbai suburbs), one each in Raigad, Thane and Sangli while two units of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in Nanded and Gadchiroli.
‘’India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted heavy to very heavy rains in coastal and central parts of Maharashtra over the weekend, said the officer from the state relief and rehabilitation department. “Isolated areas in coastal districts such as Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg will receive heavy to very heavy rains from Friday till Sunday. Maharashtra will continue to receive light showers on Friday, though the spells might intensify through the weekend in districts such as Pune and Satara,’’the official added.
He further stated that parts of Marathwada and Vidarbha will continue to receive showers till Sunday.
Shinde said that on Wednesday there was an incident of cloud burst and heavy rains in Maharashtra and other states in South India. He has asked NDRF and other rescue teams to be ready with proper coordination.
Meanwhile, the CMO said that 29 districts and 368 villages have been affected due to heavy rains in the state since June 1 till date. So far 117 temporary shelter centers have been set up and 20,866 died due to heavy rains while 44 houses have been completely damaged and 3,540 houses have been partially damaged.
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