Marathwada, a region caught in a deadlock of drought for over four years breathed a sigh of relief when it received a heavy rainfall for nearly 10 days in a row. However, the delight was over soon when al leats six people died across the region to rain-related incidents.
According to officials, villages have got inundated and in Beed, the NDRF had to be called for help. They added that small and medium projects in all the eight districts of Marathwada are overflowing while those with a large capacity are either full or have crossed the 50% mark. Moreover, the traffic from Maharshtra to other neighbouring states such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Goa has also slowed down.
Beed District Collector Naval Kishore Ram said the district had received around 45 per cent of its average rainfall in the past four years, reports The Indian Express. The district has crossed its annual average rainfall mark of 666 mm, with 700 mm rain.
In Nanded, the Godavari river was overflowing at some places after four years. Between the monsoon of 2015 and 2016, more than 1,000 farmers committed suicide in the Marathwada region because of the agrarian crisis.
On Sunday, many people gathered to watch the opening of the sluice gates of the overflowing Majalgaon dam (16 TMC capacity) in the district, done for the first time in four years. Talking about the celebrations, Ram said, “We are now facing a problem of plenty. There is not a single well or lake or irrigation project that is not overflowing.” The district administration sought the NDRF help after water from swollen rivers entered villages, he added.
Meanwhile, two fo the key dams in Osamanabad, Lower Terna (4 TMC capacity) and Sena Kolegaon (5 TMC) are filling up fats. At 50%, Terna is fuller that it had been in 20 years. The 17 medium-sized dams and 90 smaller projects in Osmanabad are all overflowing.
District Collector Prashant Narnaware of Osamanabad, said that compared to 49 per cent rain the past four years, Osmanabad has got 92 per cent so far. He is also battling the problems caused by this sudden surge, he added. Recent rains cut off six villages, and residents from two had to be shifted to safer places.
In Latur district, the worst-affected in the Marathwada drought, where water was brought on a train for at least four months, Manjara dam is three-quarters full.
