Heavy showers flood Thane and Raigad districts

MUMBAI: Rains continued to play havoc in Thane and Raigad districts on Wednesday, causing water-logging and landslides, while several rivers overflowed.
District officials decided to release water from the Surya dam (Dhamni dam) in Jawahar taluka, which has neared 82% of its capacity. Five doors of the dam were opened and villagers in the vicinity moved to safety.Officials said if the dam overflows before August 30 it will prove to be dangerous, so water will have to be released regularly.
Kalyan and Badlapur were at the receiving end as the Kalyan creek and Ulhas river overflowed. Badlapur village was disconnected from the city as the bridge connecting the city and village was submerged. Around 200 families living close to Waldhuni river in Kalyan were moved to safety after it began overflowing early on Wednesday. Kalyan’s Rambaug, Shivaji Chowk, Kala Talao, Shahad, Ulhasnagar’s Samrat Nagar, Panchshil Nagar, Renuka Society, Hiraghat and Shanti Nagar areas were flooded as water entered many homes since Tuesday night. In Bhiwandi, around 300 families living close to the Nadi Naka area were shifted. In Virar’s Boling, 200 tribal families were moved to safety after water entered their homes early on Wednesday.
Nalasopara remained under water on Wednesday though it did not see much rain in the day. The road leading to Nalasopara police station remained water-logged. Residential townships like Vasant Nagri in Vasai (east) remained under water. Most roads developed big potholes following incessant rainfall since Sunday.
Raigad received an average rainfall of 97.66 mm in its 15 talukas in the last 24 hours. The hill station of Matheran received the highest rainfall of 230 mm, followed by Karjat (174.4 mm) and Pali (155 mm) till 8 am on Wednesday. Raigad’s disaster management officer, Sagar Pathak said: “The total average rainfall here since June 1, is 1,429.04 mm, which is nearly 46.39% of the season’s 3,142.83 mm average.”
Landslides affected traffic on the Mumbai-Agra highway and scores of MSRTC buses were stranded en route to Kasara and Mumbai on the Mumbai-Nashik road. An MSRTC official said the disruption lasted for at least two to three hours. “The buses leave for Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon among other places and ferry hundreds of passengers daily,” an official said, adding many waited for as long as three hours for the affected area to be cleared. Trucks carrying essential commodities were also stuck in the ghats.
However, despite the heavy rain, the state public works department undertook road widening and filling of potholes ahead of chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s scheduled visit to inaugurate the new Palghar district on Friday.