Marathwada downpour claims 2 lives; over 55 rescued; schools shut in Beed today

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: One person drowned in an overflowing nullah while another died of a cardiac arrest during a rescue operation in the Ashti taluka of Beed district, as overnight rain lashed many parts of the district and the region till Monday morning.An Army helicopter and local rescue teams rescued as many as 51 people stranded in half a dozen flood-hit villages in Ashti. Five people from Mouje Deulgaon Bazaar village in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar's Sillod taluka were also safely relocated after their house was inundated.Among the eight districts of Marathwada, Beed district received a maximum of 37mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours ending Monday morning, with 15 revenue circles receiving heavy rainfall of more than 65mm during the same period.Shivkumar Swami, the resident deputy collector of Beed, said a public holiday was declared for schools on Tuesday due to the rain-related situation. "Road connectivity to 36 villages in different parts of Beed district was lost due to fresh rainfall. Six such villages are in the Ashti taluka. An Army team and helicopter airlifted 24 people from flood-hit villages of Ashti, whereas local teams safely took out another 27 people," he told TOI.Afroj Bagwan, a 30-year-old from Dhamangao in Ashti taluka, drowned in an overflowing nullah, while 69-year-old Shrawan Shinde, from Ghatpimpalgaon village of the same taluka, died of a cardiac arrest during the rescue operation, officials said. Additionally, in Beed's Ambajogai taluka, a percolation tank at Chinchkhandi developed a major breach on Monday morning, submerging nearby areas.Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who is also the guardian minister of Beed, was in contact with the local district administration to assess the rain situation. Among other districts in Marathwada, Dharashiv (28mm), Parbhani (25mm), Latur (24mm), Hingoli (14mm), Nanded (12mm), Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (5mm), and Jalna (3mm) also reported rainfall in the 24 hour period, with a total of 17 circles from these districts reporting heavy rainfall of over 65mm.Divisional authorities from the revenue department said standing instructions were in place for the local administration to carry out an assessment of crop damage, cattle deaths, and other losses. While Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district has received an orange alert from IMD for Tuesday with chances of heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places, many other parts of Marathwada have received a yellow alert.All 11 major irrigation projects in Marathwada, including the Jayakwadi dam in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, along with the majority of medium and minor irrigation projects in the region, have been overflowing. Marathwada has received 676mm of rainfall since June 1, which is 113% of expected showers. The region received 122% of the expected showers during the corresponding period last year, according to official data.