Monsoon played havoc in Maharashtra; 80 died and millions displaced in 2019

While the monsoon season is always welcomed for bringing respite from the summer heat and replenishing parched reservoirs, this year it wrecked havoc in parts of western Maharashtra where over 80 people lost their lives and lakhs got displaced after unprecedented rains.

Heavy showers pounded several districts in western Maharashtra, including Sangli, Kolhapur, Pune and Satara, causing flooding and damaging crops in August and September.

Over 55 tehsils were badly hit in Kolhapur and Sangli.

As several villages got marooned, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Army had to be pressed into action to rescue people stranded there.

Nearly 62 people were killed in floods and rain- related incidents in Pune division, which comprises Pune, Solapur, Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur districts, according to official figures.

Of these, 17 people lost their lives after a boat capsized near Brahmnal village in Sangli on August 8.

"Seven to eight lakh people were shifted to safer places in Sangli and Kolhapur in August for which 105 rescue teams, 200 boats and two helicopters were used," an official at the Pune divisional commissioner's office said. Read More