Low-lying areas in Pune flooded as incessant rain sparks water discharge from dams

As of 5.30 pm, Shivajinagar reported 37mm rain while Pashan received 34.1mm, Lohegaon 25.4mm and Chinchwad 36.5mm. More rainfall is expected in the evening and at night.

The Ektanagar area on Sinhagad Road in Pune was flooded as water entered the parking lots of housing societies situated in low lying areas.

District Collector Suhas Diwase (Express photo by Pavan Khengre)

District Collector Suhas Diwase visited the area in the morning with the Army and NDRF being pressed into rescue operations. In the evening, Dapodi and Bopodi reported waterlogging as the water level in Mula river swelled up.

The irrigation department started discharge of 20,000 cusecs of water from the Ujjani reservoir on Sunday afternoon for the first time this season. Incessant rains upstreams of the Bhima saw Ujjani dam filling up fast. Since the last few days, Ujjani, which lies at the tail end of the Bhima river system, filled up quickly.

On Sunday, Ujjani was filled upto 90 per cent of its 110 TMC capacity as compared to 5.99 per cent last year. Incessant rains in Khadakwasla dam network has seen over 10 TMC water being released along the river.

Rains have pounded Pune district over the last few weeks which has led to rise in water levels across dams. With more rains being predicted for the district, further discharge is expected from the dams. All dams in the district have started discharging water directly into the rivers.

The last week of July saw Pune reeling under floods as water discharge continued form various dams. Low lying areas such as Sinhagad Road, Warje, Dandekar Bridge, Dapodi, Bopodi, parts of Shivajinagar experienced flooding, leading to the death of eight people.

Around 17 state highways were closed due to landslides and rocks falling on them. Residents of housing societies in the low lying areas had complained of water and electricity disruptions for days afterwards.