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What lies in store for Palghar and Thane: Fear of more flooding with all 6 dams full to the brim

Administration on high alert as IMD predicts ‘extremely heavy’ rainfall in Palghar, ‘heavy to very heavy’ rain in Thane tomorrow

On Sunday, 10,500 people were rescued and evacuated from Thane and Palghar after heavy rain coupled with rivers in spate lashed the residential areas. (Express Photo)

With incessant rain in the last few days filling up dams to the brim in Thane and Palghar districts, residents of these areas are now living in constant fear of flooding for the remaining months of the monsoon.

All the six dams, namely Barvi, Bhatsa and Tansa dams in Thane and Modak Sagar, Dhamni and Surya dams in Palghar have filled to the brim over the past week.

Haphazard planning and illegal construction are the major reasons why the water has failed to recede from these areas as these structures are a hindrance to the natural flow of water.

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All the six dams, namely Barvi, Bhatsa and Tansa dams in Thane and Modak Sagar, Dhamni and Surya dams in Palghar have filled to the brim over the past week. Express

Not only this, the release of water from the six dams has further accentuated the flooding.

On Sunday, 10,500 people were rescued and evacuated from Thane and Palghar after extreme rain coupled with rivers in spate lashed against the residential areas. While some of the evacuation operations took place in 196 villages, most in Thane were located in urban areas.

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The district administration is now living in fear of the two months left for the monsoon to subside as the region will face more flooding even if it receives moderate rainfall.

“The dams were full after the rains over the weekend. Their levels subsided after we released the water. Now, even if it rains in moderation, we will be forced to release water from the dams as they are already brimming. This is bound to cause more flooding in the region,” said an official from the Palghar district administration.

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Officials said more than 190 villages in these two districts were at risk from flooding. District officials are bracing themselves for “extremely heavy” rainfall in Palghar and “heavy to very heavy” rainfall in Thane, on Thursday, predicted by the Met department.

“There are 196 villages in the blue line zone of the three major dams, Modak Sagar, Tansa and Surya, in both districts. With the dams being full and rivers in spate, even if we get 50 mm rainfall, we will face flooding. The region is on high alert,” said Palghar District Collector Kailash Shinde.

In order to address the problem, the Palghar district administration has drafted a standard operating procedure to handle imminent flooding.

Unlike in the past where evacuees were put up in any available safe house, the administration has identified specific shelter zones where people can be moved to. The administration is trying to ensure that these centres are equipped with basic facilities, including drinking water and medical supplies.

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The administration also plans to move people to safer ground at the first sign of flooding rather than wait for water levels to rise drastically.

Officials are also bracing themselves for the impact of the rain in urban areas of Thane and Palghar.

The increasing concretisation of Thane and unchecked illegal construction is also acting as a hindrance to the dissipation of rainwater.

“This problem will only get compounded every year, if the rains continue like this, as the illegal encroachments have taken over natural pathways of water,” said Thane Collector Rajesh Narvekar.

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Activists have for long been complaining that the local administration is turning a blind eye towards illegal construction, which, in turn, is causing the city unprecedented damage during natural emergencies.

“This is exactly what we had feared. We had alerted the government of heavy encroachment over natural water exitways. In Diva, Bhiwandi, Ambernath and Ulhasnagar, there are heavy encroachments not only by industries who operate over the bank of the river but even residential societies. There is no buffer zone for the water to go and as rivers fill up, we need to brace for water entering our houses,” said activist Satyajit Burman, who is based out of Ambernath.

First uploaded on: 07-08-2019 at 04:12 IST
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