Rescue operations concluded in Maharashtra’s Palghar district on Friday after heavy rains claimed two lives and left several areas flooded, with 244 people rescued during overnight operations, officials said.
The district administration, along with two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), carried out relief efforts in the worst-affected areas. Schools and educational institutions across the district were ordered to remain closed on Friday as a precautionary measure.
Vivekanand Kadam, head of the district disaster management cell, said the multi-agency rescue and relief operations were completed around 5 am.
Several parts of Palghar were inundated following intense rainfall, with Dahanu and Talasari among the worst-hit areas. The death toll rose to two after another body was recovered from Dahanu on Thursday. The deceased, who was swept away in floodwaters, is yet to be identified, officials said. Earlier, another man’s body was found in a nullah.
Kadam said 244 people were rescued from waterlogged areas during the overnight operations. Those rescued included 124 people from Palghar town, 65 workers stranded at a factory in Talasari and 25 people trapped at a farmhouse in Gundale.
Officials had earlier said that 891 people had been rescued from flood-affected areas on Thursday.
A relief team official described the flooding as the worst witnessed in the district in the past decade.
Several close calls were reported during the heavy rains. Four passengers were rescued after their car plunged into a water-filled trench on Sun City-Ghas Road in Vasai West while the driver tried to avoid a stray dog. Local residents pulled the occupants to safety from the partially submerged vehicle.
In another incident, six people, including four passengers, were rescued after an MSRTC bus became stranded in rising floodwaters in Saivan. Local residents used ropes to pull them out safely.
As floodwaters receded, traffic movement resumed on affected roads and bridges. Officials said they had begun conducting panchnamas (spot inspections) to assess financial and property losses suffered by residents.
District Collector Indu Rani Jakhar continued to monitor the situation, officials said.
( With inputs from PTI)
