Ulhas river comes close to danger mark, Thane on alert

Thane Collector Rajesh Narvekar said the entire district machinery was put on high alert on Tuesday after the IMD recorded 67 mm average rainfall in the district.

“The Ulhas river is flowing near the danger mark. All of our tehsildars and other ground officials have been asked to be stationed in their areas to deal with the situation,” he said.

The Bhatsa dam opened five of its gates by a height of 1.25 metres, district officials said. “The villages on the bank of rivers have been alerted. While the Ulhas is just a couple of metres below the danger sign, 444 cubic metres per second is being released by Bhatsa. If the rain continues, water might enter villages and cities,” said an official from the collector’s office.

Water had already started entering areas in Ambivali and Bhiwandi. “These regions had seen waterlogging over the weekend but it wasn’t severe. Now it’s flooding low-lying houses, most of which have been evacuated,” said an official from Kalyan taluka.

Regions in Ulhasnagar, Ambernath and Kalyan which had earlier been flooded were evacuated on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.  “Most people are either living with family or in our shelters. Some who had gone back on Sunday or Monday had been asked to return as water can come into the houses,” said the official.

Narvekar said, “One bridge has been closed as of now and other roads that might have to be closed have alternatives. As of now, no rescue is needed. However, our teams are ready and we have alerted police and health professionals.”