RAIN CLAIMS 3 LIVES IN PUNE

Torrential rains lashed Pune city on Saturday evening, causing widespread chaos.

- INDU BHAGAT

Some areas received more than 65 mm of rainfall in just two hours, leading to severe waterlogging. Amid the deluge, at least 31 incidents of tree fall were reported, resulting in tragic consequences. Regrettably, three deaths were reported, with two individuals drowning and one succumbing to injuries caused by a falling tree.

Shivajinagar area recorded 101.7 mm of rainfall between 5:30pm and 8:30pm, while Baner and Wadgaon Sheri areas experienced 56.8mm and 61.5mm of rainfall, respectively which caused waterlogging, tree falls, power cuts and traffic jams.

The monsoon, approaching from the Southwest side, reached a few parts of the district including Baramati, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced. The climatic changes resulted in the formation of strong clouds, leading to heavy rains and thunder activity in Pune. Within a short span of two hours, Shivajinagar received 67.4 mm of rainfall till 5:30pm followed by 56.8mm of rainfall at Pashan and 18.9mm of rainfall at Lohegaon.

Many areas witnessed heavy traffic in the evening with long queues of vehicles seen moving slowly in Shivajinagar, Peth areas, and Sinhgad Road. At the same time, some areas like Katraj, Bibwewadi, Pashan, and Sus witnessed intermittent power cuts.