Over 4 lakh people moved to safety, water receding in Sangli & Kolhapur

Over four lakh people have been moved to safety from the flood-hit parts of Maharashtra so far, including 3.78 lakh from the worst-hit Kolhapur and Sangli districts where the situation showed signs of improvement on Saturday as the water level started receding.

According to a statement from the state government, 4,24,333 people have been evacuated and shifted to safer places across the state. A total of 761 villages in 69 'talukas' in the state were affected by flood.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reviewed the rescue and relief operations in Sangli on Saturday and interacted with the people. He assured all assistance to them.

Addressing a press conference there later, Fadnavis attributed the flooding to "unprecedented" rainfall during this monsoon, which he said was "more than double" of what was witnessed in 2005, when many parts of the state, including large areas of Mumbai, were submerged.

"During the 2005 floods, Sangli had received 217 per cent rainfall in a month's time, ...