MORE WATER THAN CITY

3 electrocuted in Pune; another person dies in landslip; two trapped in Lavasa mudslide; two drowned after falling into Barvi Dam; Army steps in

Incessant rains have wrought major devastation in Pune city and other parts of the district, claiming at least four lives and submerging many houses in low-lying parts of the city.

Velha, Mulshi, Bhor talukas and the catchment areas of several dams, including Khadakwasla, were witnessing persistent showers since Wednesday night.

Of particular concern was the Khadakwasla dam's catchment area, where over 35,000 cusecs of water was initially discharged, leading to flooding and inundation of several lowlying areas along the Mutha.

All this happened with a perfunctory warning from the administration, without any real effort to evict those residing in vulnerable areas.

Four rivers in the state, including the Kundalika and Amba, were flowing above the danger mark and threaten to destroy villages and settlements along their banks. Six gates of the Koyna Dam in Satara district, one of the largest in the state, were cranked open just 18 inches in the evening, and over 11,000 cusecs (or over 3.2 lakh litres) of water came gushing out.

Three people were electrocuted at Pulachi Wadi in the Deccan Gymkhana area in the early hours. They were killed while wading through water and trying to move their food cart; they have been identified as Abhishekh Ghanekar, Akash Mane and Shiva Parihar. Three others, two of them caretakers of a bungalow in Lavasa, are feared trapped after a mudslide.