Maharashtra weather update: Heavy rains continue to lash state for next 3 days; 2 persons washed away in floods in Nanded; schools closed in Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad (VIDEOS)

Aurangabad: Following the heavy discharge of 78,399 cuses per second of flood water entering the Jayakwadi dam at Paithan from various upstream dams situated in Nashik and Ahmednagar districts, the water level has crossed the 52 percent mark at 0600 hours on Thursday morning compared to 34.69 percent last year.

Due to heavy inflow into Jayakwadi dam, the live storage level crossed 52 percent live stocks, said Command Area Development officials this morning.

He further said that at present the level of the dam was 1511.93 feet and 460.836 in metre with a total water stock of 1868.512 MCM and 1130.486 MCM of live stocks i.e. 52.07 percent.

Meanwhile, the MET fore cast heavy rains across the state in the next three days.

Holiday declared for educational institutions in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad

With torrential rains battering the Pune city over past five days and meteorological department issuing a red alert for next two days, the administration has announced that all schools and colleges in city will remain closed on Thursday.

A decision to this effect was taken by the Education department of Pune Municipal Corporation.

Apart from this, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal commissioner Rajesh Patil has ordered the primary and secondary schools as well as private schools to declare a holiday on July 14.

Similarly, the Forest Department in Pune has written a letter to the district administration requesting a ban on tourists visiting Sinhagad fort until July 16 for fear of landslides on the nine kilometre road from the foothills to Sinhagad.

Also, in view of heavy rains and possible danger, the administration has decided to ban tourism in Lonavala after 1700 hours.

Meanwhile, due to incessant rains, normal life in Pune has been disrupted altogether, with potholes on the roads and water logging in many parts of city creating a big problem for vehicular traffic. There has been a landslide near Katraj old tunnel.

Incessant rains continue to lash the Marathwada region in the state for the past couple of days creating havoc and paralyzing normal life, it was reported on Thursday.

Nanded, Hingoli, Osmanabad and Beed districts were the most affected by the rains in the region.

Heavy rains have led to a significant increase in water storage in dams across the state.

Report from Nanded district stated that two persons were washed away in the floods at village Sitaram Naikwada and Umari villages. They are identified as Ramdhan Rathod and Sambhaji Aneboinwad.

Hundreds of hectares of agricultural land have been inundated due to floods in small rivers and nallas in the district. The fertile soil and crops on the farmland have been eroded. Ninety-nine revenue boards in the district received heavy rainfall i.e. above 65 mm.

Hadgaon to Himayatnagar, Nanded-Wasmat and Tamsa-Bhokar roads have been closed for traffic due to flooding.

District Collector Dr Vipin Itankar has instructed the concerned officials to be vigilant regarding the flood situation as the water level in 34 projects under Degalur, Bhokar and Loha Irrigation Departments in the district has exceeded 100 percent due to the rains that have been going on for three days.

Taking into account the possible flood situation in the district, Itankar also informed that after discussing with the district collector of Nirmal district in Telangana state, the planning of water in Pochampad dam in that state has been decided.

Report from Hingoli district stated that, Kalamanuri and Wasmat talukas in district have been hit by heavy rains for the second time in five days. Twenty to twenty five villages in Dandegaon have been cut off due to overflowing of water from the seepage lake.

Reports from Parbhani stated, Four gates of Nimma Dudhana project have been opened in Selu taluka of district and water is being released into Dudhna river basin at a speed of 2357 cubic feet per second.

The irrigation department has appealed to the riverside villages to be vigilant.

Beed district also experiencing continuous rains for the last three days and the level of water in the district has increased. The Nagpur dam in Parli taluka is nearly 100 percent full and water is flowing from the drain.

The IMD has sounded orange alert in Aurangabad,Jalna,Hingoli,Nanded and Osmanabad districts in the region. (Inputs from UNI)