Maha flood: Central war room set up between army, navy, air force

Indian Army on Sunday informed that it has established a Central War Room for coordination between the three services for ongoing flood relief operations in Maharashtra.

"#OperationVarsha21--A Central War Room has been established at Department of Military Affairs for close coordination between the three Services for ongoing #FloodRelief operations in #Maharashtra," Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI), Indian Army tweeted.

The three Services have joined hands with the civil administration as well as the State Disaster Management Authorities in relief and rescue operations in flood-affected areas of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa.

Working in close coordination with the administrations of worst-hit Ratnagiri, Kolhapur and Sangli districts of Maharashtra, the Indian Army has deployed task forces, comprising infantry, engineers, communication, recovery and medical teams in the affected areas.

According to the official release by the Ministry of Defence, the teams conducted rescue and relief operations and saved precious lives in Chiplun, Shirol, Hatkangle, Palus, and Miraj areas.

Naval Seaking, Advanced Light Helicopters and Indian Air Force MI-17 helicopters conducted multiple sorties and rescued people marooned due to sudden and sharp rise in the water levels. They also conducted aerial surveys of the affected areas to enable senior officials to assess the situation and plan rescue and relief operations.

Around 400 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were airlifted by Indian Air Force aircraft from Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata and Vadodara to Pune, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri in Maharashtra and Goa along with 40 tons of rescue equipment.

The teams of the three Services are working round the clock to rescue the locals affected by floods, besides providing them with food, water, medical. More rescue teams and aircraft are on standby for deployment.

Today, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray visited flood-affected Chiplun where he met officials and local representatives to assess the extent of damage and ongoing relief operation.

Over the last few days, Maharashtra witnessed heavy rainfall following which landslides and floods occurred in several parts of the State.