12th Aug 2024 (Odisha Tazanews) Pune :-> Due to the recent heavy rains, some parts of the city were hit by heavy floods. For the various demands of these flood victims, a protest march was organized by the Republican Party of India (Athwale). Dr. In the presence of thousands of citizens, the protest march started from the Babasaheb Ambedkar statue and reached the Collectorate, Irrigation Bhawan and Pune Municipal Corporation.
Hundreds of flood-affected citizens along with ‘Repay’ activists participated in this march in heavy rain. A demand was made from ‘Repay’ that the flood victims should get immediate assistance of Rs. The march was led by Sanjay Sonawane, the city president of Ripain, in which regional secretary Balasaheb Janrao, former deputy mayor Dr. Siddharth Dhende, Sunita Wadekar, State Convenor Parashuram Wadekar, Wasim Pailwan, Adv. Mandar Joshi, former corporator Ashok Kamble, Nilesh Alhat and other activists were present.
Sanjay Sonawane said that due to the lack of coordination between the Irrigation Department, Collector’s Office, Municipal Commissioner Pune and the Disaster Management Committee, nearly ten thousand families in Pune have been affected by the flood. There has been no relief from the government yet, and there is a risk of flooding in the riverside settlements in the near future. Therefore, preventive measures should be taken so that flood situation does not occur again.
Balasaheb Janrao said that this flood situation was created due to the release of water without any prior warning, which caused heavy losses to many families. As all the dams supplying water to Pune discharge into the Khadakwasla dam, this danger remains. If no alternative is given to this, flood situation like 1962 may occur. To avoid this, alternative routes should be created and water released towards Raigad should be considered.
Dr. Siddharth Dhende said that due to the heavy rains in Pune, many people’s lives have been exposed due to water entering the settlements along the Mula-Mutha river. Lakhs of rupees have been lost. This situation should be seriously considered and compensation should be given to the flood victims. 25 thousand rupees should be given to every family immediately.
Parashuram Wadekar mentioned that the width of the river bed has decreased due to the river improvement scheme. Due to construction of metro line, construction of road in river, various development works of municipality, encroachment in riverbed, encroachment on drains, water is entering the urban areas. It is worrisome that the flood that occurs after releasing 90 thousand cusecs of water earlier now occurs after releasing 28 thousand cusecs of water. A large number of flood victims from Shantinagar, Adarshnagar, Bopodi, Khadki, Yerwada and other areas participated in the protest march.
