Irrigation dept chalks out emergency plan

The irrigation department is also doing its bit to prevent floods during monsoon.

The irrigation department is also doing its bit to prevent floods during monsoon. The department has already set up a flood control cell and will regularly post flood control updates on its website during monsoon. The cell,which has 21 employees,will start functioning on June 1.

Emergency action plan and gate operation plan are being reviewed ahead of the monsoon. Monitoring of the flood gates,electricity supply and generator sets has been going on,” said section engineer of Khadakwasla division A Palnitkar. The department has already installed river guages at Bundgarden,Daund,Pandharpur and Nira to get constant updates on water level.

Last year,the rain came only by July 18 and the catchment areas received showers quite late. The storage capacity will last till July 15. At present,the dams have 14.15 percent storage with 4.12 TMC. Though the storage levels are slightly better than last year,one has to be careful if the rain comes in late, say irrigation officials.

Last year,the water storage was around 12.93 per cent with 3.61 TMC. Around 70 main villages in free catchment areas near rivers and dams in Pune district already have rain gauges. This will help the irrigation department control the release of water from dams,thereby controlling flooding of rivers during the monsoon.

The cell will also provide weather info to the citizens. According to district administration,weatherman will send updates to the district collectorate regularly.

The district administration will also give training to villagers in rescue operation; the focus will be on 89 villages near major rivers where residents and village heads have been informed about the magnitude of flooding.

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