By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, July 22:
The torrential rains played a havoc in Ratnagiri district of Konkan region of Maharashtra with one major river on spate leading to submergence of many villages, on Thursday.
Due to the water above 12 feet gushing in several houses were evacuated and people were moved to safety. The water level at the Vashishti river bridge between Chiplun and Kamathe stations in Ratnagiri rose above the danger mark after the heavy downpour. As a result normal life in the Khed and Chiplun talukas was totally paralysed.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held an urgent virtual meeting with officials and instructed them to take immediate measures to ensure safety of the people. The train services on the Konkan Railway route in Ratnagiri district were suspended. “Eight trains have been regulated due to the disruption of the route,” Konkan Railway Corporation Limited’s Deputy General Manager (Public Relations) Baban Ghatge said.
Regulating trains means they have been either rerouted, short-terminated or cancelled. Water level at the Vashishti river bridge between Chiplun and Kamathe stations in Ratnagiri has risen above the danger mark after the heavy downpour, the official said. “In view of the safety of passengers, train services in this section are suspended temporarily,” he said. This is the second disruption on the Konkan Railway route in the last few days.
Position of Trains on Konkan Railway Route
Due to heavy rain, water level of Vashishiti river bridge at Km 130/7 to 131/0 between Chiplun and Kamthe station in Ratnagiri region has risen above danger level. In view of safety of passengers, train services in this section are suspended temporarily. Trains are regulated at following stations: Train No. 01134 Mangaluru Jn. – Mumbai CSMT Special dated 21/07/2021 is regulated at Kamthe station from 05:17 hrs. Train No. 02617 Ernakulam – H. Nizamuddin Daily Special dated 21/07/2021 is regulated at Sangameshwar Road station from 07:36 hrs.
Train No. 04695 Kochuveli – Amritsar Weekly Special dated 21/07/2021 is regulated at Ratnagiri station from 07:17 Hrs. Train No. 06346 Thiruvananthapuram Central – Lokmanya Tilak (T) dated 21/07/2021 is regulated at Vilavade station from 08:06 Hrs. Train No. 06072 Tirunelveli- Dadar Special dated 21/07/2021 is regulate at Rajapur Rd. station from 08:24 Hrs. Train No.06001 Thiruvananthapuram Central – H. Nizamuddin Special dated 21/07/2021 departed Verna station at 09:06 Hrs.
Train No. 01114 Madgaon-Mumbai CSMT Mandovi’ Special dated 22/07/2021 departed Majorda station at 09:08 Hrs. Train No. 01003 Dadar Sawantwadi Rd. Special dated 22/07/2021 is regulated at Chiplun station from 06:14 hrs Train No. 01151 Mumbai CSMT – Madgaon Janshatabdi Special dated 22/07/2021 regulated at Khed station from 09:07 Hrs.
On July 19, train services on the route were suspended for a day due to seepage of water in the Old Goa tunnel near Panaji. The Konkan Railway has a 756-km-long track from Roha near Mumbai to Thokur, located close to Mangaluru.
The route, spread across three states- Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka – is one of the challenging terrains, as it consists of many rivers, gorges and mountains. On Thursday, train services of the Central Railway in the Kasara Ghat section of Maharashtra’s Thane district and near Lonavala hill town in Pune district adjoining Mumbai were also severely affected after heavy rains caused flooding, washing out of tracks, boulder crashes and mudslides in that region.
