Kshirsagar tells officials to plug loopholes in flood control project

Kolhapur: State planning commission chief and MLA Rajesh Kshirsagar on Saturday instructed Kolhapur and Sangli civic officials to ensure there are no shortcomings in the implementation of the Maharashtra Resilience Development Project (MRDP) for flood control in the two districts. The meeting chaired by Kshirsagar was held at the Kolhapur district collectorate and was attended by Kolhapur and Sangli municipal commissioners K Manjulekshmi and Satyam Gandhi respectively, KMC additional commissioner Ravikant Adsul and Kolhapur resident deputy collector Gajanan Gurav."The MRDP, a World Bank-funded project, is being implemented for Kolhapur and Sangli districts through the state's NITI Aayog and MITRA (Maharashtra Institution for Transformation), and there should be no loopholes in this flood control project. Kolhapur, Sangli and Ichalkaranji cities are more affected by floods and, if they do occur, their intensity should be reduced," Kshirsagar told officials.Officials briefed the MLA on the number of drains in Sangli, Ichalkaranji and Kolhapur cities prone to flooding and how many of these posed a peril to human life in urban settlements. In response Kshirsagar said necessary funds will be provided through MITRA to prevent floodwaters from entering the cities. "The Water Resources Department will coordinate with Sangli, Ichalkaranji and Kolhapur cities to take adequate measures. The long drains in these cities should be considered in the project. Thought should be given about how the area around these drains can be developed and how a recreational centre can be built here. Along with the improvement of the main rivers in the city, secondary and tertiary drains should also be considered for flood control," he said.A timeline to fully implement the project in two to three years in coordination with the urban development, water resources and disaster management departments were also discussed.Among other attendees in the review meeting were MITRA's technical director Vinay Kulkarni, irrigation department superintendent engineer Abhijit Mhetre, executive engineer Smita Mane, municipal water engineer Harshjit Ghatge and disaster management officer Prasad Sankpal, along with relevant officials of Sangli, Kolhapur, and Ichalkaranji civic bodies.