Traffic movement towards Southern side of Konkan from Kolhapur district gets affected due to floods and landslides

KOLHAPUR: Traffic movement towards the southern side of Konkan from various routes via Kolhapur district remains affected due to incessant rains and floods. This is very likely to result in a supply hit of vegetables, fish, and other essential products.

The vehicular traffic on the Kolhapur-Gaganbawda highway, a part of Kolhapur-Vaibhavwadi-Talere National Highway 166G, was closed on Tuesday morning as the floodwaters rose at Mandukli village on the highway, 35 km from Kolhapur city.

This highway is preferred by travellers moving towards the southern side of Ratnagiri and also towards Sindhudurg district.The alternative road via Anuskura Ghat is also blocked as a landslide occurred in the ghat section on Tuesday morning.

The PWD officials are on the spot, and the work to remove the debris is ongoing.Meanwhile, the Nipani-Devgad State Highway has become inundated under the floodwaters at Fejiwade village, causing traffic movement through this road to come to a standstill.Prasad Sankpal, Head of Kolhapur District Disaster Management, said, "Out of the three routes to reach southern Konkan and Goa, currently only Amboli Ghat is available.

The closest route to reach Sindhudurg is via Bhuibavda and Karul Ghat. However, due to heavy rains for the last three to four days, there have been incidents of landslides in these places. At the same time, the other route via Phonda Ghat is closed. Therefore, people should take note that only Amboli Ghat road is currently available to travel to southern Konkan and Goa. People are appealed to travel only if it's necessary."In Kolhapur district, 65.5 mm of average rainfall was recorded in the last 24 hours until Tuesday at 8:30 am. Owing to the increased rainfall and discharge from the dams, the Panchaganga River has swollen to a height of 36 feet and is 3 feet below its warning level. As many as 80 barrages from the district have become inundated under the flooded rivers, causing large-scale disruption to traffic movement. Over a hundred villages from the district have lost their direct connectivity due to the floods. Kolhapur Municipal Corporation has alerted the residents from the Sutarwada area of the city to be ready for evacuation.