Maharashtra rains: Two washed away in flood waters in Bhiwandi; Hingoli villagers shifted to safer locations

THANE: Two men were washed away in the rain-swollen water bodies in separate incidents that occurred in Bhiwandi taluka of Maharashtra's Thane district, officials said on Saturday.

The first incident took place on Thursday night, when 35-year-old Pintya Pandarinath Jadhav, a resident of Padgha in the taluka, had gone for fishing near a flooded steam.

During the activity, he fell into the water and got washed away, a fire brigade official said.

A search was carried for him, but he could not be traced, he said.

In another incident, 19-year-old Asif Ansari, who had gone to swim in Kamvari river on Friday, got washed away.

Despite efforts, he could not be found so far, another official said.

Residents of two villages in Hingoli district of Maharashtra are being shifted to safety after heavy rainfall in the region caused flooding in Asana river, officials said on Saturday.

So far, at least 200 people have been evacuated, a top district official said.

Parts of Hingoli district, located in Marathwada region of the state and around 200 kms from here, have been getting heavy showers over the past couple of days.

"Due to the downpour, Asana river in the district flooded on Friday night. The low-lying areas in Kurunda and Kinhola villages in Vasmat tehsil were badly affected," he told PTI.

Although the water level is slowly decreasing now, the administration has been shifting the residents of these villages to a Zilla Parishad school nearby, district collector Jitendra Papalkar said.

No loss of human life has been reported so far and the situation is being monitored, he said.

In the 24-hour period ending 8 am on Friday, Hingoli district recorded 230.70 mm rainfall, which is 26.84 per cent of its annual average rainfall, the district authorities said in a statement.