With heavy rains lashing Palghar district of Maharashtra for the third consecutive day on Saturday, several villages in Wada taluka are cut off from the district headquarters as key bridges are submerged and some rivers are in spate, officials said.
No casualties or damage to properties has been reported, a senior District Disaster Control Cell official told PTI. Surya, Pinjale, Deherje, Vaitarna and Gargai rivers have crossed the danger limits due to the continuous downpour, he said.
The bridge at Bramhangaon on the Deherje river connecting Kanchad and Kurje has been submerged since Saturday morning. Also, the bridge on the Gargai river between Peek-Gargaon villages has gone under the water, affecting traffic, the official said.
"Villages on either side of these bridges are cut off from others," he said. Kachad-Kurje is the key road which connects Wada and Vikramgad talukas. Vehicles, villages and students of schools remained stuck on either side of the bridges for hours, officials said.
Meanwhile, Palghar MP Rajendra Gavit expressed serious concerns over the frequent traffic snarls on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway, especially between Vasai and Versova in Palghar. He held a meeting with senior officials.
"The new bridge constructed at Versova (between Thane and Palghar) is of sub-standard quality which is compounding traffic woes. The rods on this bridge, which is not even one year old, are protruding," he told reporters and also flagged potholes on the highway.
Gavit said dumping of debris on either side of the highway is hampering water flow. "Constructions carried out by hotels and restaurants by raising heights has been affecting the free flow of water along the highway," he claimed.
