Maharashtra: Cyclone Gulab fuelled rain kills 17; NDRF rescues over 560

MUMBAI: At least 17 people were killed in Maharashtra due to heavy rain which triggered floods, thunderstorms and lightning strikes in the past two days. The brunt of the rain fury was primarily borne by the Marathwada region.

More than 560 people have been rescued after the NDRF was mobilised and helicopters were deployed.

Besides, more than 200 cattle perished or were washed away and a number of houses were damaged in torrential rains that lashed Marathwada on Sunday and Monday.

As per reports , The Marathwada region in central Maharashtra which faced rain fury comprises eight districts - Aurangabad, Latur, Osmanabad, Parbhani, Nanded, Beed, Jalna and Hingoli. Heavy rainfall in catchment areas of the Manjara dam forced authorities to open all 18 gates of the reservoir to discharge water on Tuesday, which led to flooding in some villages in Beed district, while an alert was sounded in some neighbouring districts.

Officials, cited by the report, said the local administration opened all 18 gates of the Manjara dam and 11 gates of Majalgaon dam in the early hours of Tuesday, releasing 78,397 cusecs and 80,534 cusecs of water from these respective catchments.

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A total of 205 animals, including 60 large milch animals, were washed away or perished in the heavy rains over the last two days."With this, the total loss of livestock, including cows, buffaloes and goats, has increased up to 1,632. As many as 91,510 poultry birds are also estimated to be died in heavy rains.

Speaking to reporters  Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil said, “Since yesterday, the Water Resources Department has been monitoring the situation closely. We are trying to minimise the damage,"

The office of the divisional commissioner informed that 180 circles of these eight districts recorded more than 65mm of rain. The water discharged from the dams, in turn, flooded villages along the Manjara river in the Beed and Latur districts. A press release issued by the commissioner’s office said that of the people who were killed in the rain-related incidents, 12 were from the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions while one was from the Nashik district in northern Maharashtra.

Rains have disrupted normal life in several places across India. While a house collapsed in Kolkata on Wednesday, a techie died after falling into a drain in Hyderabad, two were killed in Bihar’s Begusarai.

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