Pune floods: 28 deaths, 2,00 homes destroyed, crops & livestock lost

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar held a review meeting on Friday in Pune, where preparatory measures and release of assistance and compensation for those who were affected by the rains were discussed.

For over a week now, most parts of Maharashtra have received heavy rain because of a strong low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal, which further intensified into a deep depression as it traversed across the land, moving towards the Arabian sea.

The revenue department said that in Pune Division, an average of 81.9 mm rain was reported on October 14, with several areas in Pune, Sangli, Solapur receiving more than 100 mm rain on the day. These included North Solapur, Mohol, Madha, Karmala and Malshiras areas of Solapur district; Miraj, Walva, Tasgaon, Palus areas of Sangli; and Pune city, Haveli, Baramati, Indapur, Daund and Saswad areas of Pune district.

On Thursday, the authorities had said a total of 26 people had died in the rain-related incidents in Pune division, including 14 from Solapur district alone. Of these, six had died in a wall collapse incident in the temple town of Pandharpur. One more death was reported in Satara district on Friday.

Pune Divisional Commissioner Saurabh Rao said that field inspections and surveys conducted by revenue department officials have shown that a total of 513 animals — including 379 cattle and 134 small animals (such as sheep, goat) — had died in the flood situation caused by heavy rains. Most of the damage to livestock was caused in Solapur district, where 478 animals were reported to have died.

The data also shows that a total of 2,319 houses were damaged, fully or partially, owing to the rain-related incidents with Solapur recording 1,716 house damage cases.

“There has also been considerable damage to crops especially cane, soybean, vegetables, tur and cotton. Crops over 57,354 hectares have been damaged due the rains. This includes 18,746 hectares in Pune district and 34,778 hectares in Solapur,” said Rao.

At the review meeting, Pawar directed the local administration in all five districts to ensure that all the government agencies were on alert considering India Meteorological Department’s forecast of heavy rain in next two days. He also directed the officers to ensure speedy inspections and punchnamas of damaged crops and property so that compensation could be given to affected families.