CM conducts aerial survey of M'wada; death toll reaches 47

Aurangabad, Maharashtra, Aug 9 (UNI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil began their aerial survey of the flood-affected Marathwada region, which has seen marked improvement on the fifth day, where the death toll due to incessant rains reached 47 today.

The Chief Minister and his deputy arrived here from the State capital this morning and left for their aerial survey to the flood-affected areas of Dhule, Nandurbar and Jalgaon, before undertaking another spell of their survey to the flood-affected Marathwada districts -- Parbhani, Hingoli and Nanded -- according to Deputy Divisional Commissioner Dilip Shinde.

Flood situation in Nanded, Parbhani, Jalna and Beed also continues to be grim due to the release of water from various dams in the region, such as Jayakwadi, Yeldari, Siddheshwar and Vishnupuri, sources said.

According to information gathered by UNI from the respective district headquarters of the region today, the authorities have evacuated 11,900 families (59,288 people) from the flood-affected 33 tehsils of the region in the last four days.

Nanded districts has topped the list of rain-related mishaps by registering 12 deaths, followed by Jalna 11, Aurangabad nine, Parbhani seven and Beed and Latur four each respectively.

Of the eight districts of the Aurangabad division, Nanded, Parbhani and Hingoli were the worst affected districts by the incessant rains, while Jalna and Beed were badly affected by the release of water from various dams in the region.

The rainfall figures available at the divisional headquarters here indicate decline in rainfall, with Aurangabad registering highest rainfall of 9.4 mm, followed by Latur (3.7 mm), Osmanabad (1.8 mm),Jalna (1.3 mm), Nanded (0.9 mm), Hingoli (0.6 mm), Beed 0.2 mm) and Parbhani -nil.

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