Karnataka to release excess Almatti water to resolve flood crisis: Fadnavis

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who conducted an aerial survey of the flood-affected districts of Sangli, Satara and Kolhapur on Thursday, said that Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa had agreed to release 5 lakh cusecs of water from the Almatti dam to improve the situation in these districts.

Fadnavis said that unprecedented rainfall and the backwaters of the Almatti dam had led to this flood like situation.

The chief minister spoke to the media in Kolhapur after he undertook an aerial survey and said that the state government would not shy away from announcing a national disaster in the state if the situation did not improve. The CM’s aerial survey comes three days after the districts have been battling with the flood like situation that has displaced 1.32 lakh people so far.

“The situation is most severe in Sangli, where other than the main city, everything is under water. The situation will improve once Karnataka releases 5 lakh cusecs of water from the Almatti dam. Home minister Amit Shah held a meeting with both Karnataka CM and myself to resolve this issue. They (Karnataka) have agreed to discharge this water by tonight,’’ Fadnavis said.

He added that there were concerns from the neighbouring state about releasing so much of water, which could in turn flood downstream areas.

The chief minister also announced that he had called off the first phase of his Mahajanadesh yatra in the light of the flood situation in Western Maharashtra that has brought three Western Maharashtra districts to a complete standstill. “I will start on the second phase of the yatra on August 19, depending on the situation in the state then.”

In Kolhapur, the chief minister said that nearly 67,000 acres of crop stood destroyed and as many as 97,000 people were displaced. Out of this, 83,000 people were living in 152 relief camps set up by the district administration. Currently, 60 different boats and 22 different rescue teams, including those from Gujarat, Goa and Punjab have been pressed into service in these districts.

“Our priority is evacuation of people. We will ensure all relief measures possible for those affected in the floods including those whose homes have been damaged,” Fadnavis said.

He also admitted that nine people had died in a local rescue operation gone awry in Brahmanal village in Sangli, where an overloaded boat containing as many as 30 people overturned in the water.

The chief minister was accompanied by cabinet ministers Chandrakant Patil, Girish Mahajan and Eknath Shinde during his aerial survey.

Fadnavis said that Mahajan would be asked to shift base to Sangli to oversee relief operations as soon as it was possible for him to land or reach the district. The Opposition has slammed the Fadnavis-led government of neglecting these districts and ignoring the flood situation until it was too late.

“Even as these districts were getting flooded, the CM was busy with his Janadesh yatra. Only after we criticized him, he halted the yatra for a day. If the CM had given directives to the district administration in time, the situation would have been better. BJP has a government in Karnataka and in Maharashtra but they have still not been able to resolve the Almatti issue?’’ questioned former deputy Chief Minister and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar.

Meanwhile, Congress state president Balasaheb Thorat demanded a package of ₹4,000 crore for the flood-affected districts.