Stop poll tour, visit flood-hit Kolhapur: NCP MLA to Maha CM

NCP leader Hasan Mushrif on Tuesday asked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to stop his 'Mahajanadesh Yatra' and visit Kolhapur which is grappling with floods. Mushrif, MLA from Kagal in Kolhapur, asked Fadnavis to ensure speedy measures are taken to provide relief to flood- affected people in the district.

Fadnavis is at present on a 'mega mandate' tour across the state ahead of Assembly polls slated for later this year. "The flood situation in Kolhapur district has turned grave. The state government must immediately pay attention. I request the chief minister to stop his yatra at once and visit Kolhapur," Mushrif, a former state minister, told PTI over phone.

Mushrif said the Fadnavis dispensation should demand that the Centre direct the Karnataka government to ensure maximum discharge of water from Almatti dam in the southern state to ease the flood situation in Kolhapur. Incessant rains in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district caused flooding in several low-lying areas on Tuesday, after which 10,000 people were evacuated and power supply to over 85,000 consumers was disconnected as a precautionary measure, officials said.

The national highway between south Kolhapur and Belgaum in Karnataka was shut for vehicular traffic due to water-logging in the area. The chief minister had said earlier in the day that the government had taken steps to ensure relief is provided to the people from flood-affected areas.

Speaking to reporters in Vidarbha's Yavatmal earlier in the day, Fadnavis said he had written to Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, requesting him to increase the discharge of water from Almatti dam to mitigate the flood situation in Kolhapur and Sangli districts. The CM said teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in flood-hit Kolhapur and Sangli districts, while Indian Air Force helicopters have also been pressed into service..