Traffic diverted via old highway route as work is on to clear the debris which came down from the hills at Khandala
Pune : Landslide caused by heavy rains blocked the busy Mumbai-Pune Express Highway on Monday, following which the traffic was diverted via the old highway route.
There was no casualty due to the landslide and work to clear the debris is on, officials said.
Heavy rains lashed Pune and Western Maharashtra last night with the revival of the monsoon activity. The downpour disrupted the long-distance Mumbai-bound trains. The MeT department recorded 34.5 mm rainfall in the city and suburbs as it poured the entire day till 8.30 pm last night, uprooting trees in different parts and causing traffic disruption.
Unlike Konkan, Vidarbha and parts of Marathwada, the Western Maharashtra had a late onset of the monsoon. Widespread rains had been reported from Kolhapur, Satara and Sangli districts of the region.
The catchment areas of four city dams — Varasgaon, Panshet, Pavna and Khadakwasla — registered good rainfall, the weather office said.
Monsoon activity is expected to be vigorous in the next two days, it added.
Six long-distance trains plying between Pune and Mumbai were cancelled yesterday while some others were rescheduled. Central Railway officials said the train traffic was expected to normalise in the next 48 hours.
“The landslide occurred at 10 am. This affected the movement of vehicles,” an official from traffic control room, highway said.
“Loose mud and rocks slid down the hills at Khandala, 47 km from Pune. Efforts are on to remove the big rocks of landslide and it may take some time, as the size of rocks is very big,” he said.
“Our team also has to ensure that further landslides do not occur. We cannot allow the traffic until we are assured that there is no danger,” the officer added. PTI
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5 killed in landslide near Karjat
Alibag : Five persons, including four of a family, were on Monday killed after landslide flattened a house here this, an official said.
The incident occurred at around 6.15 am in village Mohechiwadi under Karjat taluka of Raigad district located adjoining Mumbai, a Disaster Management Cell official said.
The victims, four members of a Dighe family and their relative, were sleeping in the house which was knocked down by the landslide triggered by heavy rains, he said.
The deceased, three of them women, aged between 18 and 75 years, were buried under the debris, he added. PTI
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