Incessant late-season showers lashed Pune and the Konkan region reeled under heavy rain on Wednesday.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Pune recorded 55% more rainfall than the average this monsoon. The city received rains exceeding 630mm, significantly higher than its average annual rainfall of 497mm.
The showers caused the cancellation of trains such as the Deccan Express, the Sinhagad Express and the Manmad Godavari Express, which ply between Pune and Mumbai along the Manmad-Daund route.
The Bhide bridge on Mutha river connecting the Deccan with the city’s Peth area was submerged after a huge volume of water was released from the Khadakwasla dam.
Pune Municipal Corporation officials said the rains accompanied by winds felled a number of trees in the city. No damage to life or property was reported.
Since the beginning of the week, Konkan has been the wettest region. Since Monday, Ratnagiri has been receiving a daily average rainfall of over 370mm. Meanwhile, Chiplun and Dapoli crossed the 200-mm mark. Nashik in north Maharashtra continued to be inundated with the district recording excess rainfall. It spurred the release of more than 4000 cusecs of water from the Gangapur dam.
Irrigation department officials said that continuous showers this week had caused water to be released from the city’s major dams. The collective stock in the city’s four main dams, which constitute its potable water lifeline, stood at 27.49 TMC (94.28% of the collective capacity of the dams). Khadakwasla and Panshet dams were also packed to capacity, triggering a discharge of water.
Continuous downpour since Tuesday has filled the major dams across Maharashtra. Officials said that excess water had to released from 23 of the 37 dams in the State. Marathwada’s lifeline, the Jayakwadi dam in Aurangabad district, was filled to 92%.
The sluice gates of the Koyna dam in Satara, one of the largest dams in the State with a storage capacity of 105 TMCft, were opened, officials said. The Ujani dam in Solapur district too was filled to capacity.
IMD sources said the intensity of the rainfall was expected to reduce over Konkan and central Maharashtra after Wednesday.
