Heavy rains pounded Marathwada region of Maharashtra over the last 24 hours ending at 9 AM on Monday, with Pathri village in Parbhani district recording the highest rainfall of 314 mm, leaving four people dead and affecting normal life in rural areas, officials said.
The wet spells affected people in at least 63 villages, damaging some houses and crops on 45 hectares of land, as per a preliminary assessment by Revenue authorities.
The gates of Vishnupuri dam in Nanded were lifted on Monday morning. An alert was sounded for downstream villages along the Godavari river as the Jayakwadi dam water level rose.
According to officials, 284 revenue circles in all eight districts of Marathwada received heavy rainfall exceeding 65 mm on Sunday.
At 314.50 mm, the highest rainfall in the last 24 hours was recorded in Pathri village, followed by Babhalgaon circle in Parbhani with 277 mm rainfall, officials said.
The heavy rains caused the submergence of a bridge connecting Hingoli and Sengaon villages.
The water discharge began from Siddheshwar, Jayakwadi and Vishnupuri dams on Monday, while the water storage level in 11 major projects rose to 71.44 per cent.
Vishnupuri dam is full to the bream while the water storage in Jayakwadi reached 87.03 per cent. Water is being discharged at 700 cusecs from the right canal of Jayakwadi dam. Ten gates of Vishnupuri dam were lifted in Nanded and water discharged at the rate of 1.01 lakh cusecs, officials added.
"At least four people and 88 animals lost their lives on September 1 amid rains. 29 pucca and 135 kuccha houses suffered damage. Similarly, crops on 45.20 hectares of land belonging to 74 farmers from 18 villages were also affected," officials said.
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