Search ops in Raigad called off
Death toll rises to 279; Over 3.75L people evacuated so far
Following fervent requests from villagers, the Raigad district administration on Monday called off the search operations for 31 missing people in Taliye village, which bore the brunt of a massive landslide due to heavy rains. Villagers had requested the district administration to call off the rescue process, convinced that everyone stuck under the debris must be dead by now and should not be disturbed. It will be very difficult to exhume the mutilated bodies under the rubble in proper condition and hence they should be declared dead, they said.
“Survivors and relatives of the missing people had demanded closure of the operations. Respecting their sentiments, we have withdrawn our teams from Taliye. The operations to search for the 31 missing people have been officially called off. They will be declared dead following the due process. So far, 53 people have died in the village and five are injured,” district Collector Nidhi Chaudhari said.
The decision to call off the search operations was taken after seeking the opinion of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the disaster response forces of the state and neighbouring Thane district, she added.
As per the state government data, the death toll in rain-related incidents in Maharashtra rose to
279 after the recovery of
35 more bodies in Raigad, four in Satara and two each in Wardha and Akola in last 24 hours. More than 3.75 lakh people have been evacuated due to heavy rains.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had to cancel his visit to the flood-hit Patan taluka in Satara district due to rough weather.
He was scheduled to take a helicopter from Pune to Koynanagar and conduct an aerial survey of the affected areas.
He had also planned to meet the flood-affected people at a shelter camp set up at a zilla parishad school in Koynanagar. However, the tour was cancelled due to ‘inclement weather, said a state official.
Several areas in floodaffected districts are still under water.