Several roads in Maharashtra's Kolhapur, including a few state highways, have been shut for traffic as some of the stretches have gone underwater as a result of incessant rains in the district over the past two days, officials said on Thursday.
In the 24-hour period that ended at 8 am on Thursday, this western Maharashtra district recorded 93 mm rainfall, they said.
The water level of Kolhapur's Panchganga river recorded at the Rajaram weir has crossed the "warning level", the district disaster management cell said.
"Till 2 pm, the water level of the river measured at the Rajaram weir near Kolhapur was 38.10 feet," an official of the cell said.
The danger level of the Panchganga at the weir is 43 feet, he said, adding that 81 bunds in the district have gone under water following the rains.
"There are three district roads that have seen closure as the rainwater has submerged of the stretches. In several rural areas, the bridges have gone under water, due to the traffic movement has been shut. A few state highways going through the district have also been affected," he said.
The road near Jadhavwadi Nile in Shahuwadi tehsil, the Kolhapur- Ratnagiri road were closed for vehicular movement as water came onto the road, the official said.
As the bund at Khochi Dudhgaon got submerged, the traffic going towards Sangli district from that route was diverted.
"The vehicular traffic was diverted through the alternative routes," he added.
The catchment areas of several dams in the region witnessed heavy rainfall in the last 48 hours, which led to rise in the water level of these reservoirs.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has earlier said that it has deployed nine rescue teams in Maharashtra and two of them have been sent to Kolhapur district. One of it will undertake rescue or preventive evacuation in the flood-prone Shirol tehsil, while the other one will conduct rescue work in Kolhapur city, it has said.
In August 2019, unprecedented rains had wreaked havoc in western Maharashtra, especially in Kolhapur and Sangli districts, leaving at least 60 people and causing serious losses to property.
