Sangli flood: Have asked for K'taka bridge review, says Pawar

The Maharashtra government has written to its Karnataka counterpart to review the design of a bridge near Almatti Dam there which could be the possible cause of flooding in Sangli district, state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said here on Tuesday.

Almatti Dam, also known as Lal Bahadur Shastri Dam, is built on Krishna River and is situated in Bijapur in north Karnataka. It is a little over 200 kilometres from Sangli.

A team had been sent to study floods in Sangli and it found that the technical error in the construction of this bridge in Karnataka was one of the reasons for the situation, Pawar said at a press conference here.

"We have written to the Karnataka government to review the design of this bridge," he informed.

Sangli had faced severe floods in August last year, leading to the evacuation of over 50,000 people.

Pawar said there was a plan to purchase boats for flood rescue operations in the state and local youth would be trained to operate them in case of an emergency.

On a query about release of funds for Jalyukt Shivar, a water conservation project that was the flagship of the previous BJP-led Devendra Fadnavis government, Pawar said no scheme meant for the betterment of the state's people will be scrapped.

The Congress-NCP, when in opposition, had claimed there were irregularities to the tune of Rs 4,800 crore in the Rs 8,000 crore Jalyukt Shivar.

Pawar also brushed aside requests for a comment on senior Congress leader and former chief minister Ashok Chavan's statement about the formation of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government in the state, which also includes the Shiv Sena.

Chavan, speaking in Nanded on Sunday, claimed Congress president Sonia Gandhi had sought a written undertaking from the Sena that the new government in Maharashtra would work within the ambit of the Constitution.

Pawar said it was not appropriate on his part to comment at a time when the Sena-NCP-Congress government was moving in the right direction.

The deputy CM also said funds would be earmarked for a medical college in Satara.