Heavy Rains In Maharashtra Killed 47, Situation In Karnataka Critical, PM Speaks To CMs Of Both States

New Delhi : Due to heavy rains and release of water from large dams, the flood situation in many parts of Karnataka remained grim even on Friday while heavy rains and floods in the neighboring states of Pune, Aurangabad and Konkan division of Maharashtra in the last three days 47 people have lost their lives and millions of hectares of crops have been damaged. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday spoke to Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and assured all possible help from the Center.

Thousands transported to safe places
In western Maharashtra, 28 people have died. This part of the state comes under Pune division. 16 people died in Aurangabad division of central Maharashtra and three in coastal Konkan. According to Pune’s Divisional Commissioner Office, more than 2300 houses have been damaged due to heavy rains and floods and 21000 people have been evacuated to safer places. In Pune, Solapur, Satara and Sangli districts, 57,000 hectares of crops like sugarcane, soybean, vegetable, paddy, pomegranate and cotton have been damaged.

Heavy devastation in four districts of Maharashtra
“14 people have died in Solapur, nine in Sangli, four in Pune and one in Satara,” an official said. In these four districts, 513 animals have also been died and 2319 houses have been damaged. 17000 people have been evacuated to safer places in Solapur, 1079 in Sangli, 3000 in Pune and 213 in Satara. Latur, Osmanabad and Beed in Solapur, Satara, Kolhapur, Sangli, Pune and Marathwada in western Maharashtra have been the worst affected by the disaster.

Heavy damage to crops in Karnataka
Heavy rains in Karnataka led to flooding in coastal and northern regions causing heavy damage to kharif crops before harvesting. Bagalkot, Bellary, Belagavi, Bidar, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Hubli, Kalaburgi, Koppal, Raichur, Vijayapura and Yadgir have been the most affected in the north and northwest regions of Karnataka. Six teams of NDRF have been deployed in Bidar, Kalaburgi and Yadgir districts for rescue and relief operations. PM Modi spoke to the Chief Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh recently and took information about the situation.

Bodies of five people found in flood in Telangana
The bodies of five of the family of Muhammad Abdul Tahir, a resident of Ali Nagar in Hyderabad, Telangana, were found on Friday. All of them were drowned in flood two days ago. Qureshi’s son-in-law Muhammad Omar told that seeing the water rising near his house, his family went to an apartment in the neighborhood. The five killed include Qureshi’s brother, three daughters-in-law and a granddaughter. His two sons and a grandson are still missing.

Prime Minister assured of help
PM Modi said, ‘I spoke to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray. My prayers are with all of them who have been affected in this disaster. The central government will provide all possible help in relief and rescue work. PM Modi further said, talked to BS Yeddyurappa ji about the situation of rains and floods in Karnataka. We stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in flood-affected Karnataka.