Overnight rain chokes roads, disrupts power supply; water enters houses in several localities in Kolhapur

Kolhapur: Moderate overnight rainfall hit parts of Kolhapur city and district late on Sunday, with water entering homes in areas like Sadar Bazar and Vicharemal and a power outage leaving of more than two hours around midnight. Waterlogging on roads at Parikh Pul near Kasba Bawda, Merry Weather Ground, Ambai Tank-Crusher Chowk Road and CPR Hospital Chowk disrupted traffic too.

Residents in Vicharemal and Sadar Bazar said foul-smelling sewage water flooded their homes. Resident Suresh Kamble said repeated road resurfacing without proper planning and substandard Amrut-2 work aggravated the flooding. “Water entered my living room, kitchen and bedroom on Sunday night. My children had to sleep in a room surrounded by sewage water. Furniture, clothes and utensils were damaged. Who will compensate for these losses?” he asked.

The residents said as per norms, road levels should have been lowered during the Amrut-2 work. “But negligence and poor execution have worsened the situation. In some areas, contractors reportedly installed 9-inch pipelines within larger 2-3 feet drainage channels, further restricting water flow,” another resident said.

In a separate incident, a tar road over a stream between Halkarni and Basarge villages in Gadhinglaj tehsil was washed away due to the sudden surge in water flow following heavy rainfall. Traffic on this route was disrupted and police diverted vehicles via an alternative road.

According to official data, Kolhapur district recorded 21.9mm of rainfall till 8.30am on Monday, with Shirol tehsil receiving the highest at 42mm. Several areas in neighbouring Sangli and Satara districts also experienced intense rainfall during the early hours of Monday.