Heavy rain ravages Mahabaleshwar, disrupts life across western Maharashtra

Kolhapur: Cloudburst-like rain continued to batter Mahabaleshwar and the adjoining ghat region on Tuesday, leaving villages cut off, roads washed away, and transport services crippled across Satara and Kolhapur districts.

With Mahabaleshwar recording 916 mm rainfall in just 48 hours, the relentless downpour triggered road cave-ins, flooding, power outages, uprooted trees and widespread disruption to normal life.Mahabaleshwar recorded 403 mm rainfall in the 24 hours ending Tuesday morning. Combined with the previous day’s precipitation, the hill station received a staggering 916 mm rainfall within two days, making it one of the wettest spells of the season.The biggest impact was on road connectivity. Sixteen villages in Satara district were cut off after roads were submerged by overflowing rivers, while the only road connecting Erandal village in Mahabaleshwar taluka caved in on Tuesday morning, raising fears of complete isolation if further erosion occurs.Power supply was disrupted in parts of Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani, Parali and the Koyna region as heavy rain and strong winds damaged infrastructure.

Several incidents of wall and house collapses, uprooted trees and severe waterlogging were reported, slowing traffic movement on key stretches, including the Mahabaleshwar-Venna Lake road.The relentless rain also swelled rivers and reservoirs. Koyna received 319 mm rainfall and Navaja 276 mm, resulting in an inflow of 8.03 TMC (93,020 cusecs) into the Koyna dam in a single day. The dam’s storage surged from 17.8 TMC on Sunday evening to 33 TMC by Tuesday evening.In Panchgani, a silver oak tree collapsed on two tourist vehicles parked near the shopping centre. No injuries were reported, and municipal teams removed the tree with the help of machinery.Highlighting the risk posed by weakened trees, Panchgani trader Sachin Shah said, “Due to the heavy showers that have been going on for the past few days, the roots of many big and old trees in the city have become weak. Such trees have created a safety issue for the citizens.

Therefore, such dangerous trees in the city should be inspected immediately, and action should be taken to prune or remove them where necessary before any casualty takes place.

”Heavy winds also damaged public infrastructure. The roof of a Zilla Parishad school at Kari village was blown away late Monday night, allowing rainwater to damage textbooks, records, CCTV systems, computers and electrical equipment. Authorities have begun repairs and arranged alternative facilities for students.In Wai town, residents of makeshift houses at Adivasi Pada were shifted to relatives’ homes after rainwater entered their dwellings.The rain fury was equally visible in Kolhapur district, where the Panchaganga river reached 35.11feet by Tuesday evening and submerged 59 barrages. Thirteen dam catchment areas recorded over 100mm rainfall, while Kode, Dhamani and Ghataprabha dams reached full storage capacity.Transport services suffered a major blow. Around 600 MSRTC bus trips were cancelled in Kolhapur district, including services on the Mumbai-Pune-Kolhapur route, resulting in an estimated loss of Rs 20 lakh over the past three days. Floodwaters also forced the closure of sections of the Kale-Bazaarbhogaon and Anuskara-Rajapur state highways, hampering movement across the district.At Nrusinhawadi in Shirol taluka, floodwaters entered the famed Datta temple at the confluence of the Krishna and Panchganga rivers, marking the annual Dakshin Dwar Sohala.While Sangli and Solapur received only moderate rainfall and reported no major damage, the IMD has issued a yellow alert for Satara and Kolhapur districts for Wednesday.