At least five persons have died and hundreds are stranded in floodwaters following heavy rains in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region in the past four days, The Hindu reported on Wednesday.
The state Cabinet has approved Rs 2,215 crore to help 31.5 lakh farmers who were affected by the rainfall.
More than 5.5 lakh acres of farmland have been submerged in Marathwada in the last two days, according to the Hindustan Times.
The districts of Dharashiv, Beed, Solapur and Ahilyanagar are among the worst affected.
The India Meteorological Department has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in central Maharashtra between Thursday and Monday.
Rescue operations are underway in four districts.
At least 320 persons were rescued in the last 24 hours, National Disaster Response Force inspector Pankaj Chaudhary told The Hindu.
The Army airlifted 27 stranded citizens by helicopter in Dharashiv district, its Southern Command said.
Shirish Yadav, deputy collector of Dharashiv, told the Hindustan Times that Bhoom and Paranda villages were among the worst affected, with parts of the district recording more than 100 mm of rainfall in two days.
“Along with that many areas such as Karjat and Jakhed, in Ahilyanagar, Ashti and Patoda, in Beed district, received heavy rainfall,” Yadav was quoted as saying. “We have started discharging 70,000 cusec [cubic foot per second] water from the dams to control the floods.”
State Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan on Tuesday described the situation as grim and stated that the region had never recorded such heavy rainfall in the last 50 to 70 years, The Hindu reported.
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that while Marathwada was the worst affected, parts of Vidarbha and western Maharashtra had also seen heavy downpours because of cloudbursts.
“The situation is grave, as farmers have lost their crops and many houses have been badly damaged,” the Hindustan Times quoted him as saying.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis directed ministers to visit flood-hit areas in their regions to monitor rescue and relief work. He also asked officials to ensure that the funds are deposited in the farmers’ bank accounts within 10 days.
Opposition leaders have demanded additional relief.
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar said that the state should seek aid from the Union government.
“I have never seen this kind of rainfall in Marathwada,” the Hindustan Times quoted him as saying. “Farmers have lost everything. They need our support.”
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackery) chief Uddhav Thackeray urged the Union government to provide Rs 10,000 crore for the state.
Also read: What counts as a cloudburst? India lacks a clear answer
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