Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, said that the state government will take up the task of rescuing the people affected by the floods. A review meeting to discuss the flood situation in Kolhapur district was held recently at Rajarshi Shahu Hall here under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
While addressing the officials, he said that the state government is providing necessary assistance to the flood victims and the Chief Minister will discuss the matters with the concerned ministers from Sangli and Kolhapur districts to understand damages caused by the floods. He also assured that the flood victims would be rehabilitated after the floods receded and assistance would be provided to the flood victims by reviewing the damage caused to agriculture, trade and familial belongings.
Meanwhile, the National Highway (NH4) was closed due to flooding near Shiroli and Kini, due to which the transport of milk, fuel and food grains was also disrupted. Considering these issues, officials have stated that necessary measures have to be taken to prevent such a situation in the future and discussions will be held with discussions will be held with Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to increase the height of the highway, as similar crisis 2005 and 2019 also led to extreme flooding.
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He said that the work of the state and other roads will be done in collaboration with the state government, World Bank and other banks. Minister Pawar has instructed the officials to set up a committee which will be headed by Eknath Patil, retired Principal Secretary - Water Resources Department, to study whether the flow of the river can be maintained by removing silt from the river basin. Furthermore, he also instructed the authorities not to allow illegal constructions in the river basin and creek under any circumstances and to not obstruct the flow of the river.
Some districts in the state including Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Sindhudurg have been hit hard by heavy rains and floods. Keeping this mind, the teams have been asked to promptly carry out road works due to heavy rains in the district as some of the roads have ditches constructed during the British-era. Departments have been told to no longer block roads or lay slabs for drainage and along with relief work for the flood victims, the area will now be cleaned as well. Officials plan to distribute free food grains.
Meanwhile, the government will help in procuring state-of-the-art boats, submersible pumps, suction machines and other equipment for the flood-hit areas. Appropriate land will also be selected in the village for permanent rehabilitation of the citizens who have been affected by the floods, said Minister Pawar, for which necessary decisions will have to be taken by holding a gram sabha.
As of now, INR 5 lakh from the Chief Minister's Assistance Fund and INR 2 lakh from Gopinath Munde farmer accident insurance scheme will be given to the concerned people.
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