MIDC refuses to shut backwater dam gate of river for search ops

MUMBAI: The MIDC authorities refused to close the backwater dam gate of Savitri river for two days claiming that it would ut pressure on the gates and flood the nearby villages.
The Raigad district administration had asked the MIDC to shut the gates so that the rescue teams could access the inaccessible areas of the river near the collapsed Mahad bridge.
“The MIDC-built backwater dam is on upstream Savitri river, 15km from Mahad bridge.Closure of the gate will wash away the bund due to water pressure and flood a few villages. We do not want to take a risk...MIDC officials have told us that it is not possible to close the dam,” said Mahad sub-divisional officer Sushma Satpute.
NDRF 5th Battalion Pune Commandant Anupam Srivastava said, “The district administration was approached to shut the gates of the backwater dam for two days. Reduction in water flow will allow us carry out search operation in the 150m inaccessible portion close to the bridge.” No body was found in the river during the search operations on Wednesday.