Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wasted no time in assessing the situation in Nagpur, where he visited flood-affected families following a deluge caused by an intense downpour. He noted that a staggering 109 millimeters of rain, with 90 millimeters pouring down between 2 am and 4 am on Saturday, had inundated various parts of the city. He informed reporters about the ongoing rescue and relief operations led by the National Disaster Response Force and its state counterpart SDRF in Vidarbha’s largest city.
Fadnavis expressed his concern, stating, “As many as 10,000 homes have been affected. Mud has entered houses. The administration is providing medicines and assistance in cleaning up the flood-affected areas. The level of damage is serious. The amount of rainfall was higher than the carrying capacity of the area.” He emphasized the importance of learning from such disasters, mentioning that early measures could have minimized the damage, although the heavy rain exceeded expectations.
During his visit, Fadnavis inspected areas near Ambazari Lake, Nagpur’s largest waterbody, which breached its boundaries due to the heavy rains. He also discussed plans to rebuild the protective structures along Nag river and develop additional infrastructure to mitigate future damage when Ambazari Lake overflows.
The heavy rains claimed the lives of four individuals, including a 53-year-old paralytic woman who was bedridden. Over 400 people had to be relocated to safety in the wake of the flooding. Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari convened a meeting to review the situation.