Mumbai: The Congress on Sunday demanded that the massive floods in Maharashtra be declared as ‘L-3’ (Level-3) category disaster and the Centre help in tackling the situation.
The demand is also considered as indirect castigation of the Centre and the state government for failing to help the flood-ravaged people in the state.
‘L3’-level is an indication of a very large-scale disaster, according to guidelines of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
“L-3 disaster situations arise from large-scale disasters where districts and the state may not have the capacity to respond adequately and require assistance from the central government for reinstating the state and district machinery,” is the definition of L-3 category, as per NDMA guidelines.
In a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant said, “The current situation in Kolhapur, Sangli and other parts of the state needs to be categorised as ‘L3’, as per guidelines of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).”
By demanding this category, Sawant, also a Congress spokesperson, has indirectly blamed the state government for failing to help the flood-hit people as “it has no capacity to respond.”
So far, the Centre has “not provided any major assistance” to the flood-devastated people of Maharashtra, Sawant said.
“With such a categorisation, it would become mandatory for the Centre to assist the affected people in Maharashtra. The demand should be considered and implemented on priority,” he said in the letter.
Floods have wreaked havoc in parts of Western Maharashtra following heavy rains over the past week.
More than 4,00,000 people have so far been been evacuated from the flood-ravaged areas, including 3.78 lakh from the worst-hit Kolhapur and Sangli districts.
