Pimpri: Due to heavy rains in Lonavla and adjoining areas, storage in dams has increased significantly. Due to this, Lonavla police has barred entry of tourists to Bhushi dam.
Roads leading to the famous tiger and lion points are also flooded with water and have also been closed for tourists. Lonavla recorded 220 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours and also witnessed heavy fog, bringing all tourist activities in the town to a halt.
Senior Police Inspector of Lonavla police Chandrakant Jadhav said, “Bhushi dam has been closed for tourists as a safety measure due to heavy rain and blanket fog. We are going to review the situation on Sunday morning. If the situation persists, the closure will continue on Sunday also.”
Indrayani river, which flows through Maval taluka, has crossed the danger mark and water from Lonavla dam is going to be released in Indryani river instead of Khopoli Hydro power project.
As a resultwater level in the river is likely to increase further. Pavana dam, which supplies water to Pimpri-Chinchwad, is at 84.28 per cent capacity with 7.175 TMC ft water. The catchment area of the dam received 58 mm rainfall on Saturday, and has received 1,907 mm rainfall since June 1.
