IMD red alert for 3 districts in western Maha; Panchganga river level 7 feet short of warning mark in Kolhapur

The Met department has issued a red alert indicating heavy to extremely heavy rains for Pune, Satara and Kolhapur districts in western Maharashtra over the next three days even as the Panchganga river level in Kolhapur rose and is seven feet short of the warning mark as of Wednesday night, officials said.

They fear that if the rain continues overnight, the water level of the Panchganga and other rives will reach the warning mark (39 feet) by Thursday morning.

Two teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have already been stationed in flood-prone Shirol tehsil and Kolhapur city.

Satara and Kolhapur districts are experiencing heavy rainfall, prompting the district administration in Kolhapur to take preemptive measures to tackle any flood situation in the district, which was battered by floods in 2019 and 2021.

Due to heavy rains, the water level of the Panchganga river at the Rajaram weir in Kolhapur reached 32 feet at 8 pm on Wednesday, seven feet below the waning mark and 11 feet below the danger threshold.

The red alert is valid from July 6 to 8 for the Satara district and from July 7 to 9 for the Kolhapur district.

"During this period, the respective regions will witness extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in ghat areas. For Pune, a red alert has been issued for July 7 and July 8," India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials said.

According to the district officials, if rains continue to lash the Kolhapur district, the water level of Panchganga, Doodhganga, Warna, Hiranyakeshi, Ghatprabha and Vedganga rivers will reach the warning level by July 7 morning.

The administration has cautioned the citizens to follow the instructions given by authorities.

Pravin Darade, the guardian secretary of the Kolhapur district, has directed officials to coordinate with the Karnataka government over the issue of the discharge of water from the Almatti dam to avoid any flood-like situation.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde spoke to Kolhapur district collector Rahul Rekhawar in view of the IMD's warning, officials said.

Meanwhile, a total of 14 families from Gutke village in Mulshi tehsil of Pune district were shifted to temporary residential structures as a precautionary measure considering the possibility of landslides, a senior district official said.

Pune Zilla Parishad (ZP) CEO Ayush Prasad visited the village and supervised the shifting of persons and cattle.

"Total 14 families of Gutke Village in Mulshi Taluka were shifted to temporary residential structures built on an open ground as a precautionary measure for landslides," he said.

Last year, it was brought to the notice of the district administration that the land immediately above the habitation had a one-foot slip, Prasad said.

"Last year, geologists had rushed to the area. During the study, it was found that there was a landslip. Since it was risky, the residents were shifted to safety," he added.

A landslide occurred on a road leading to the Pratapgad fort in western Maharashtra's Satara district following heavy rains. There was no report of any casualty, Public Works Department's executive engineer, Sanjay Sonawane, said earlier in the day.