VALPOI
Heavy rains in Sattari led to the flooding of several roads in the taluka and 12 villages had virtually no road access to Valpoi town on Thursday evening.
According to reports, waterlogging at many places cut off the road access and many motorists were stranded in Valpoi till late at night, causing severe problems to people travelling to rural areas.
Heavy rains since Thursday morning crippled rural areas in Sattari taluka and roads were flooded in several areas, cutting off access between Valpoi and the villages of Sonal, Savarde, Dharkhan, Kudse, Savarshe, Khadki, Guleli, Shel-Melavali, Paikul, Dhada, Murmune and Khotoda in Sattari.
With road access cut off, people were stranded in Valpoi town and were unable to return to their villages. Many rushed to the Valpoi police station and demanded arrangements be made to travel to their rural areas.
Valpoi Police Inspector Sagar Ekoskar made arrangements for some people to return to their villages but explained that it was not possible to make arrangements for everyone as the situation was dangerous in many places.
Meanwhile, Valpoi Electricity Office Assistant Engineer Deepak Gawas said power lines have been severely damaged, while 10 electricity poles had broken in the last two days, causing a loss of about Rs 1 lakh.
“Power supply has not been affected in all parts of Sattari, as efforts were made to provide power supply in places where poles had been damaged,” said Gawas.
With water levels at the Anjunem dam rising sharply, officials were set to release excess water at any time.
According to information, the water level had reached 88.67 metres by 8 pm and officials said excess water may be released if the water level crosses the 89-metre mark.
Several officers have been appointed to monitor the situation in Sattari round the clock and if needed, orders will be given to release water at any time.
The officers appointed include Ram Gawas, Gaurish Mhalsekar, Pawan Varak, Satish Kumar Sawant, Naresh Pokale, Vinod Bhandari, Anil Phadte, Samir Gawas, Dilip Gaonkar, Shambhar Patil, Pundalik Gawas, Akhtar Karol and Sunil Rane.
