Alleging that the government was caught napping, Fadnavis said that the “inordinate delay in calling the NDRF led to more damage”. (File)Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday alleged that the Maharashtra government’s failure to establish proper coordination with its Madhya Pradesh counterpart has resulted in floods in eastern Vidarbha.
“The flood situation in Bhandara, Gondia and Gadchiroli districts is alarming. All rivers in eastern Vidarbha — Wainganga, Kanha and Indravati — are either overflowing or above the danger mark,” Fadnavis told mediapersons.
While the state has maintained that the floods were an outcome of excess water discharged by Madhya Pradesh, he said: “Lack of coordination with the Madhya Pradesh government led to this alarming situation. The state should have coordinated with the MP government. It would have helped in issuing early alerts.”
Alleging that the government was caught napping, he added that the “inordinate delay in calling the NDRF led to more damage”.
“The water released from Rajivsagar dam takes 36 hours to reach these districts in east Vidarbha. If timely measures were taken, the situation could have been salvaged. Or at least the administration should have been better prepared to undertake relief operations.”
While demanding immediate flood relief work in the region, the leader of Opposition in the Assembly said that 40 villages in Gondia, 13 in Chandrapur and 5,000 families in Bhandara have been hit. In Gadchiroli, communication lines have snapped in several villages.
“The government should provide financial package to the affected farmers. The process of panchanamas should be done immediately,” he said.