Panchganga breaches its banks, several small dams & Mahabaleshwar’s Venna lake overflow

Kolhapur: Continuous heavy rainfall across western Maharashtra inundated roads, filled several dams to capacity and triggered flood alerts in low-lying areas as rivers across Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara swelled rapidly on Sunday.The water level of the Panchaganga river, which flows through Kolhapur city, rose from 28ft on Sunday morning to 31ft by the evening due to intense rainfall in its catchment areas. While still below the warning level of 39ft and the danger mark of 43ft at Rajaram Barrage, the river breached its banks, submerging 28 barrages in the basin.The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) appealed to residents living near the river to shift to temporary shelters if floodwaters approached their homes.

Fire brigade teams have been deployed to continuously monitor the situation.Vedganga became the first major river in the district to cross its warning level after heavy rainfall of 185mm was recorded in the Patgaon dam catchment in Bhudargad taluka. In neighbouring Sangli district, the Warna river overflowed near Haripur, where it meets the Krishna river.Several reservoirs rapidly filled up. The 1.56TMC Ghatprabha dam in Chandgad taluka, along with the Kasarde and Kandvan dams in Shahuwadi, reached 100% capacity.

Gaganbawda recorded 143mm rainfall during the period.Flooding disrupted connectivity in Kolhapur district, with two state highways, two district highways and multiple road stretches submerged under water.In Satara district, Mahabaleshwar recorded 318mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending 8pm on Sunday. The famous Venna lake started overflowing, while dense fog and incessant rain enveloped the hill station throughout the day.A major accident was averted in Mahabaleshwar when a jamun tree crashed onto a moving SUV. Local residents rushed to rescue the occupants, who escaped without serious injuries. People later cut away branches to clear the damaged vehicle.The monsoon has also revived waterfalls across the region. Rautwadi, Hasane, Sawatkada and Barki waterfalls in Kolhapur started flowing strongly and attracting visitors. In Satara, the Thoseghar and Mahind dams have started overflowing.At the Koyna hydroelectric project, live water storage touched 18 TMC. The Koyna catchment received 123mm rainfall, while Navaja recorded 94mm in the 12 hours ending 8pm on Sunday.Meanwhile, the Krishna river was flowing at 11 ft at the Irwin Bridge near Sangli city. Downstream, Karnataka’s Almatti dam stood at only 17% of its capacity, compared to 71% during the corresponding period last year.