A flood-like situation emerged along the banks of the Godavari river in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna and Beed districts on Tuesday after heavy rainfall and large-scale water discharge from dams, officials confirmed. According to a revenue official, intense rainfall hit the catchment zones of Jayakwadi dam in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Majalgaon dam in Beed since Monday night. "It was like a cloud burst in some of these areas," the official said. The two reservoirs were already close to full capacity, and with continuous inflows, authorities started releasing water.
Rainfall figures in dam catchments
Javlala and Ramoda areas near Majalgaon dam recorded 160 mm and 120 mm of rainfall respectively. In the Jayakwadi dam catchment, Gangapur received 46 mm, Paithan 92 mm and Bhendala 52 mm of rain since Monday night. By Tuesday morning, discharge from Jayakwadi dam had reached 1.03 lakh cusec, while Majalgaon dam released 1.15 lakh cusec of water into the Godavari river.
Villages facing flood threat
Excess rainfall was also reported in Ghansawangi and Ambad talukas of Jalna and Gevrai taluka of Beed. This resulted in swelling of the Godavari river and created a flood-like situation in several villages across Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna and Beed districts, officials added.
Heavy rains lash Latur
Earlier on Sunday, heavy rains lashed Latur district, resulting in one death which prompted authorities to issue alerts to people living along banks of rivers and near dams, as per officials. Anita Maruti Rathod (38) of Sangvi died after being struck by lightning, while 42-year-old Dayanand Sambhaji Boyane, who was swept away in floodwaters in Katejavalga, was rescued, officials said. "Latur district recorded 15.6 mm rain on Sunday. Latur has so far received 142 per cent of the monthly average rainfall in September. The average rainfall in the district is 132.7 mm in September. However, the district has recorded 188.8 mm rainfall this month," an official said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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