Vidharbha rains: Two swept away in swollen rivers

NAGPUR: Even as the incessant rainfall in Vidarbha slowed down, fast flowing rivers and nullahs continued to claim two lives since Saturday night, taking the official death toll to 12 on Sunday.
A 22-year-old youth from Chandur Bazar tehsil in Amravati was swept away in river Purna on Sunday, with rescuers yet to trace his body. The body of Ankit Thakur, a 32-year-old resident of Telhara (Akola), who was swept away on Saturday night, was recovered by NDRF personnel on Sunday, 5km from where he was last seen.
Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said excessive rainfall has led to flooding, and all rehabilitation efforts are on. Fadnavis said, “In two days, we got 15 days of rainfall, causing the flooding. We are prepared to respond to any situation.”
Yavatmal, the worst hit district in Vidarbha on Saturday, got some relief as rains subsided. Other districts too did not witness much rain and flooding.
In Yavatmal, there was respite for the marooned villagers in 77 out of 110 revenue circles. Preliminary information said crops were damaged on more than 2,500 hectare, with the fertile topsoil in farms washed away, rendering them unsuitable for further sowing.
State rehabilitation minister Anil Patil and district guardian minister Sanjay Rathod flew to Yavatmal from Mumbai in the wee hours of Sunday via Nagpur, and held an emergency review meeting.
The ministers visited the family of a woman who died in a wall collapse on Saturday. Patil promised ₹2.5 lakh financial assistance. The ministers also visited neighbouring Washim district.
In Chandrapur, water level in Irai and Zarpat rivers skirting the city continued to rise, though there were no rains in the area for the second consecutive day on Sunday. Half a dozen localities were flooded due to rising water level in both rivers.
Over 200 people from low lying areas have been shifted to rescue shelters of Chandrapur Municipal Corporation.
The Hyderabad highway passing through Chandrapur was closed as water started flowing over Wardha river bridge between Ballarpur and Rajura town.
Akola, which received the second highest rainfall in Vidarbha on Saturday, limped back to normalcy on Sunday. H Pawar, district information officer (Akola), said, “We had hardly any rainfall on Sunday and this helped water recede from low lying areas, especially in the city.”
In Amravati, 22-year-old Mohammad Shoeb Sheikh Aslam was swept away in flowing waters of river Purna. Resident district collector Vivek Ghodke told TOI the youth fell into the river while watching the floods. The search was halted at dusk, and will resume on Monday morning.
Overall in Amravati, weather gods provided some respite but Saturday’s rainfall damaged crops in almost 30,000 hectare.
In Wardha, rain was not reported on Sunday, but water kept flowing into lower Wardha project from other places. Therefore, 25 gates of the project have been opened 30cm.
Washim’s Karanja tehsil had faced the brunt of rising water levels on Saturday. On Sunday, no casualty or property damage was reported.