Pune Flooded Amid Heavy Rain; CM Shinde to Visit Today

There was heavy rainfall across Pune district on Sunday, resulting in widespread flooding and significant disruptions. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts light to moderate rainfall will continue in the city until August 10, with a red alert issued for heavy rain today.

A senior meteorologist mentioned that rainfall is expected to decrease from Monday, August 5, due to a westward-moving depression over Jharkhand. This shift is likely to weaken the monsoon flow over the state, leading to reduced rainfall activity, according to the sources. Despite the anticipated decrease in rain, cloudy conditions are expected to persist throughout the week. The continuous weekend rain brought cooler temperatures, with Shivajinagar and Lohegaon recording 24.7 and 24.8 degrees Celsius, respectively, which are below normal.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is scheduled to visit the flood-affected areas of Pune today to meet with the district administration and other disaster relief agencies.

Significant rainfall was recorded in the catchment areas of several dams between 6 am on Saturday and 5 pm on Sunday. The heavy rain led to increased water discharge from the dams. Panshet and Varasgaon dams raised their discharge to over 11,800 cusecs each by Sunday evening, causing the Khadakwasla discharge to rise to 45,000 cusecs. This surge resulted in the Mutha River swelling and flooding low-lying areas of Sinhagad Road in Pune city. Similarly, the Mula and Pavana rivers, flowing through Pimpri Chinchwad, saw increased discharge rates, causing additional flooding.

Responding to criticism and directions from Murlidhar Mohol, the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and MP from Pune, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) initiated extensive pothole repairs on Saturday night. Using 35 teams, the PMC repaired 500 potholes across the city, including key areas such as Sinhagad Road, Solapur Road, and Baner Road. Despite ongoing rainfall, repairs continued on Sunday night. PMC Commissioner Dr. Rajendra Bhosale and Superintendent Engineer Sahebrao Dandge oversaw the repairs, utilizing a hot mix and cement-concrete mixture. Continuous rain may necessitate redoing some repairs, with plans for another repair drive in the coming days.

Heavy rainfall also impacted ghat areas in Pune district, with Mahabaleshwar in Satara recording 110mm and Tamhini Ghat in Mulshi taluka receiving 240mm of rain. The IMD predicts reduced rainfall intensity in these ghat sections from August 6. Other regions, including Marathwada and Vidarbha, experienced minimal rainfall, with places like Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Parbhani recording less than 1mm.