Heavy rain batters Hingoli & Nanded; many evacuated

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Several urban and rural residential areas of Hingoli and Nanded districts, in the Marathwada region, were inundated on Sunday. This was due to heavy overnight rain followed by spells of moderate showers. The disaster management personnel had to undertake rescue and evacuation operations at multiple locations in the districts.
A few areas of Parbhani and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar districts also reported flood-like situation and major spells of intermittent rainfall throughout Sunday.
While no loss of human life was reported from any of the districts till Sunday evening, over a dozen livestock animals perished. Twenty houses were damaged too.
Road connectivity in certain areas of both districts was temporarily disrupted due to the submergence of roads and bridges.
Hingoli district additional collector Khushalsingh Pardeshi on Sunday evening said 12 people stranded in floodwaters were rescued from rural parts of Aundha and Hingoli talukas.
“Around 45 houses in the Takalgavhan Sawangi village of Kalamnuri taluka were engulfed due to the flooding of the Kayadhu river. Residents congregated atop a hill for safety. Once the water level recedes, we hope for the safe rescue of all the stranded people,” he said.
Pardeshi further said that help was sought from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Indian Army for the deployment of the trained workforce to deal with the flood situation in the areas.
In Hingoli city, around 110 residents of Siddharth Nagar and Indira Nagar, among other low-lying areas, were stranded in rainwater. They were shifted to a wedding hall by the disaster management department personnel. The district administration offered khichadi to all evacuated people, including several children.
Gushing rainwater also entered the famous Jyotirlinga temple at Aundha Nagnath in the Hingoli district, causing inconvenience to devotees.
Siddheshwar major irrigation project, along with several other dams overflowed in Hingoli district, which received 34mm of rainfall during the 24 hours ending 10am on Sunday, followed by spells of incessant showers later in the day.
In neighbouring Nanded district, 26 revenue circles received over 65mm of rain in the 24 hours till 10am on Sunday, submerging low-lying areas. The district reported an average of 56mm of rainfall, making different reservoirs, including the Vishnupuri dam, overflow. Collector Abhijeet Raut said the disaster management department was on its toes since the wee hours of Sunday. “People living on the banks of rivers and nullahs have been alerted. The panchanamas of cattle death and damage to houses will be carried out soon,” he said.
In Parbhani district, a bridge on the Hingoli-Sengaon road from Jintur taluka was submerged and was temporarily closed for vehicular traffic till Sunday evening, disrupting connectivity between the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions.
Meanwhile, as per the official forecast, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is likely to get heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated places on Monday. Marathwada, comprising eight districts, has received 594mm of rainfall so far since June 1, which is 114% of expected showers, according to official data.