Heavy rain causes flood in Maharashtra's east Vidarbha; over 53,000 people evacuated from 175 affected villages

More than 53,000 people have been evacuated from 175 villages of Nagpur, Bhandara, Chandrapur, and Gadchiroli districts in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region, where flooding occurred after heavy rains and the release of water from dams, officials said on Tuesday. Over 92,000 people have been affected by the flooding and heavy showers in these four districts in the last few days, a report released by the Nagpur divisional commissionerate said. Eleven rescue and relief teams, including of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Army, are engaged mostly in Chandrapur and Bhandara districts, it said. Following incessant rains during the weekend in East Vidarbha region and Madhya Pradesh, water was released from various dams of Maharashtra and the neighbouring state, causing flooding in several various villages of East Vidarbha. Till 1 pm on Tuesday, 53,224 people from 175 affected villages of the Nagpur division have been shifted to safer places, the report said. Out of these, 27,091 people have been evacuated from Nagpur, 18,192 from Bhandara, 5,667 from Chandrapur and 2,274 from Gadchiroli district, it said. As many as 76 villages have been affected in Bhandara, district, 61 in Nagpur, 22 in Chandrapur and 16 in Gadchiroli, the report said. Two teams of the Army were deployed in Pombhurna tehsil and Ladaj village of Brahmapuri tehsil of Chandrapur for relief and rescue works, district disaster management officer Jitesh Survade said, adding that water has started receding in these places. Discharge of water from the Gosikhurd dam has also been reduced, he said. While a few places are still inundated, connectivity is gradually being restored, he added.