Mumbai/Pune: At least 15 people lost their lives in rain-related incidents as heavy rains wreaked havoc in Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, and neighboring areas over the past 24 hours. The Indian Army has been assisting civil agencies in rescue operations, officials reported on Thursday.

Large sections of Pune were submerged in floodwaters as the city experienced continuous heavy rain overnight, leading to school closures and the deployment of boats to assist residents. The city’s Fire Brigade, police, SDRF, and NDRF teams were dispatched to multiple areas to rescue people, many of whom found themselves surrounded by 3-5 feet of water upon waking on Thursday.

Rescuers used rubber dinghies and ropes to evacuate people trapped in their homes, shops, or rooftops, with water reaching the ground floor ceilings in some buildings. Most local reservoirs, dams, and rivers were overflowing due to the downpour.

The NDRF launched significant rescue efforts in Nimbaj Nagar, Deccan Gymkhana, and Sinhagad Road, some of the worst-hit areas, where water inundated homes, shops, and other establishments after the city received over 200 mm of rain in 24 hours. The situation was exacerbated by the release of over 40,000 cusecs of water from the Khadakwasla Dam, according to Union MoS for Civil Aviation and Pune MP Murlidhar Mohol.

Residents expressed anger at the government for allegedly opening the Khadakwasla Dam floodgates to the Mula-Mutha River basins at around 4 a.m. without prior notice, which could have allowed people to move to safer areas. Across Pune, roads and streets were cluttered with two-wheelers, four-wheelers, uprooted trees, and other debris, with people wading through waist-to-neck deep water to salvage their belongings.

Major thoroughfares like the Bhide Bridge, Holkar Bridge, Sangam Bridge, the Khillare Complex near Garware College, and a bridge opposite the PMC office were closed to traffic due to the raging rivers below.

In addition, areas like Khandala-Lonavala, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Mulshi, Khed, Bhor, Maval, Haveli, Baramati, and the elite Lavasa city received over 300 mm of rain in 24 hours. Rescue agencies and police in Pune and other towns urged residents to stay indoors, while those stranded in multi-story buildings were advised to remain there. Power was cut off in some areas as a precaution, adding to residents' difficulties.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar visited some of the worst-affected areas and encountered distressed residents, some in tears as they described their losses and lack of food since Wednesday night.

Among the fatalities were three people in Pune city due to electrocution and three others feared dead after a hillslide buried their villas in Lavasa city in Mulshi. Additionally, one person was killed in a landslide in Maval, a man drowned in Raigad, another perished in a fire caused by a short-circuit in Mumbai, one was killed in a landslide, three died from lightning strikes in Chandrapur, and two drowned in the Barvi dam in Thane.

The identified victims include Shiva Jidbahadur Pariyar (18), Akash V. Mane (21), and Abhishek A. Ghanekar (25) in Pune, Kamlakar Mhatre in Raigad, and Mahendra Shah (70) in Mumbai. The identities of those killed in Chandrapur and Thane have yet to be confirmed.

A major hillslide in Lavasa city buried three villas, with at least three people feared dead under the debris, even as the NDRF continued rescue efforts. In a remarkable rescue, two people trapped in a car submerged in floodwaters in Panvel, Raigad, were saved using a crane. Large areas of Kalyan and Ulhasnagar in Thane were also flooded.

All educational institutions in Pune and Raigad were closed on Thursday, with schools and colleges in Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Pune, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg remaining closed on Friday.

Pune recorded significant rainfall over 12 hours: Lavasa (454 mm), Lonavala (323 mm), Nimgiri (233 mm), Malin (181 mm), Chinchwad (175 mm), Talegaon and Khadakwasla (168 mm), Lavale (167 mm), and other areas received between 50 mm and 150 mm, with an average rainfall of 115 mm.

The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) reported that Mumbai received 64 mm of rain from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, filling more than 61% of the water reservoirs supplying the city. Due to adequate rainfall in the catchment areas of the seven lakes supplying drinking water to Mumbai, the BMC will lift the 10% water cut starting Monday, July 29.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis, and Ajit Pawar are closely monitoring the rain crisis in Pune, Raigad, Mumbai, Thane, and other parts of Maharashtra. Since dawn, SDRF and NDRF teams, Pune Police, and Pune Fire Brigade, later joined by Army jawans, have been conducting rescue operations in Nimbaj Nagar, Deccan Gymkhana, and Sinhagad Road areas.

(With IANS inputs)