Mumbai, July 6 (). In view of the heavy rains in Maharashtra, Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare on Monday took stock of the flood situation in Raigarh, Ratnagiri and other affected districts.
The review was conducted with State Disaster Management Director Bhalchandra Chavan at the State Emergency Operation Center located in the ministry.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a ‘red alert’ predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall in Raigad and Ratnagiri districts on Monday and Tuesday.
Minister Tatkare emphasized that the next 48 hours are very important for both the coastal districts and strict instructions have been given to the local administration to immediately implement all necessary precautionary measures.
A team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been deployed and kept ready in Mahad to deal with possible rain-related emergency situations. Further, to ensure swift and effective response in Sudhagarh and Roha areas, the Minister said that a formal request has been made to deploy an additional contingent of 145 rescue personnel.
Minister Tatkare said that he is in constant touch with various organizations of Karjat and Khopoli, which continuously work at the ground level to help the citizens during the floods.
He assured that the state government will provide all necessary resources to these organizations and if needed, their services will be used in other affected areas of the district also. He said that they are continuously monitoring the flood situation in the state from the ‘State Emergency Operations Centre’ in collaboration with the local administration. Also, the entire system is on high alert to ensure the safety of citizens and all security and rescue agencies are fully prepared to deal effectively with any emergency.
From security point of view, Minister Tatkare has appealed to all the citizens of the state to come out of their houses only when absolutely necessary. He asked people to avoid non-essential travel and take full care of themselves and the people around them.
This step of Minister Tatkare is important because Raigarh is one of the most affected districts of the state due to continuous rains and strong winds. The problems caused by monsoon have dealt a huge blow to the state’s transport system. Traffic on the important Mumbai-Goa National Highway came to a standstill for more than 32 hours. Thousands of passengers are stranded on the Raigarh district portion of the highway.
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PSK/MS