Maha floods: Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli still critical, around 1 lakh people evacuated, says Ajit Pawar

Locals at the site after several people died in a landslide at Taliye village in Raigad district. Pic/PTI

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, on Sunday, informed that the flood situation in Maharashtra's Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli districts is still critical and that he will be visiting all three districts to take a stock of the situation.

He added that rescue operations are underway and around 1 lakh people from 6 affected districts have been evacuated.

Visuals from a flood-ravaged Sangli have been going viral on social media.

Earlier, the National Disaster Relief Force informed that eighty-nine bodies have been retrieved and 34 people are missing following landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in the coastal regions of Maharashtra.

SN Pradhan, the Director-General (DG) of the federal force tweeted the latest data of its operations being undertaken in the Raigad, Ratnagiri and Satara districts of the state. As per the data, NDRF rescuers have retrieved a total of 89 bodies from these areas, with the highest number of 47 being from the worst-hit Taliye village under Mahad tehsil of Raigad.

As per recent reports, a total of 37 people have died in Satara in various rain-related incidents. While 26 bodies have been recovered from five landslide locations - Ambeghar, Dhokawale, Mirgaon, Kahir (all villages in Patan tehsil) and Kondhawale village (Wai tehsil), the remaining casualties were attributed to rain-related mishaps, such as drowning in flood water, roof collapse and boulder crash, they said. "Search operation for at least nine persons is still on. While five of them are feared trapped in landslide incidents in Patan, two each were swept away in floodwater in Javali and Wai," Satara collector Shekhar Singh said.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said a separate force on the lines of the NDRF will be set up in all districts of the state and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) will also be strengthened.

(With agency inputs)