Villagers live in peril as 8 people drowned by Vaitarna dam waters in 3 years

THANE: Gangubai Padir is devastated at the unexpected death of her husband Bhaskar. Nine days after the 30-year-old sole breadwinner of his eight-member family was swept away by the sudden release of water from the Middle Vaitarna dam, the family is left with ₹500 and rice that will last them two months. Bhaskar single-handedly managed their three-gunta rice farm and also worked as a casual labourer in Kalyan.
“Every morning, my daughter asks about her father, and I don’t know what to tell her,” said Gangubai. “I worry about our future. Who will be held accountable for releasing the dam water without prior warning? Will the government give us compensation?”
Savarde and Dapora villages in Palghar and Thane districts respectively are situated five kilometres downstream from the Middle Vaitarna Dam, which, at 84 meters, is the third tallest in the state. Built in 2012, it stores 455 million litres of water to help fulfil the water demand of Mumbai, around 135 km away.
Villagers told HT that after the dam was built, they used to receive advance notice by post about the release of excess water. However, for the past three years, they have not received such notifications nor have sirens been used to alert them. The announced water release has led to the deaths of at least eight people in the last three years.
Savarde’s river-crossing crisis
Savarde village faces significant transportation challenges. Villagers have access to only two taxis to and fro that cost ₹200 per shared trip. The taxis drop passengers to the Shahapur bus stop, where they board a bus to Umbermali station for ₹20, followed by a train to Kalyan costing ₹25. The return trip incurs the same cost, making travel expensive for the villagers, who are predominantly casual or brick-kiln labourers earning ₹500 a day.
To save money, villagers and schoolgoing children often use a dilapidated bridge to cross the Vaitarna river and reach Dapora village, five km away. This route, which costs them ₹50, is much more economical than travelling by road and four times shorter than the 20 km by road.
Three years ago, the wooden plank they were using was replaced by this temporary iron bridge, now in bad condition, after intervention by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray. The primary concern, said villagers, was that the river swells rapidly and becomes dangerous within seconds of the Middle Vaitarna Dam opening its gates without warning.
“When the dam gates open, the river’s flow is so powerful that people are swept away,” said Hanumant Padir, the sarpanch of Savarde village. “Despite repeated requests to the dam authorities for advance notice, we don’t receive information about water release. Following our small protests (after Bhaskar’s death), the engineer has promised that a siren will be sounded.”
Hanumant alleged that the dam engineer was often drunk or absent. “On September 9, the dam’s five gates were opened without warning, and Bhasker was swept away by the current,” he said. “We demand accountability from the dam authorities for their negligence and lack of proper communication.”
The Middle Vaitarna Dam is managed by the BMC. Senior BMC engineer Jayant Kharade said that they had specific protocols for releasing excess water. “When the dam is full, it is dangerous to delay the release of water beyond the permitted limit,” he said. “Bhaskar Padir’s death was unfortunate but the water release was not sudden—it began at 9 am.” Kharade also claimed that the dam authorities always informed the tehsil authorities in advance about the water release.
The engineer said he would investigate why the villagers did not hear the siren and said that after Bhaskar’s death, he instructed the water release from the Upper Vaitarna Dam, which reaches the Middle Vaitarna, to be stopped. He said he sympathised with the villagers who travelled across the overflowing river for lack of affordable transport but said it was dangerous.
‘Give us a bridge’
For years, villagers have been requesting a permanent sturdy bridge to cross the river. “Ideally, government officials should have anticipated the need for this bridge,” said Hanumant. “Some tahsildars are aware of the situation but PWD officials consistently claim they cannot build it because the area is not under their jurisdiction.”
When questioned, Vishal Ahirrao, deputy engineer, PWD, said, “The road leading to the Vaitarna river falls under the forest department, and we need its permission to build an 80-metre bridge. Both the Palghar and Thane forest departments have issues, which is why the project is still pending.” Forest officials were not available for comment.
In the absence of a bridge, villagers suffer more than the risk of death. “Our children cannot finish their education because of the death of family breadwinners,” said a villager. “This affects job prospects and finding marriage partners. Even those who do marry have to send their young children to ashram schools, as there is no future for them in the village.”
CASE STUDIES
Heroic rescuer lost to river current
Bhaskar Padir was helping Bhau Shivram Pawar move household goods across the overflowing river. After two trips, he slipped due to the sudden water current from the dam discharge. Pawar’s 11-year-old daughter was on his shoulders, and eye-witnesses saw him holding on to her for a kilometre until fishermen rescued her. But Padir lost his own life.
“I wasn’t feeling well so I asked Bhaskar to help,” said a dejected Pawar. “Despite the powerful water flow, I decided to move the children one by one with Bhaskar’s help, as he was a skilled swimmer. When he was carrying my daughter Rujita, the water level had risen. He slipped but held on to Rujuta to prevent her from drowning. I will be forever grateful to him.”
After Bhaskar’s disappearance, villagers repeatedly requested the dam authorities to close the gates to search for his body but alleged that they remained open. After the villagers protested, the gates were closed, allowing them to recover his body.
When the sarpanch requested compensation from the tehsil office, he was told that it couldn’t be given since it wasn’t raining heavily that day and so the death was not considered a natural disaster.
Man Survives All-Night River Ordeal
Santosh Nimbare spent a whole night last week clinging to a rock. The 25-year-old sustained injuries after the river’s strong currents swept him over several rocks after the dam water was released. His family later found him near the river and rescued him.
Nimbare, who works as a casual labourer in Kalyan, missed his usual train and reached Dapode village at 9.30 pm. “Despite the powerful water flow, I decided to continue home to assist my ailing father,” he said. “As I walked through the water, I slipped and hit my head on a rock. After getting dragged over several rocks for about a kilometre, I managed to hold onto a rock. After an hour, I used all my strength to pull myself up and sit on the rock.”
Shadow of trauma cast by mother’s death in river
Ramesh Zole, 23, lost his mother three years ago, when she was swept away by a sudden surge of dam water while fetching water from the river. Her decomposed body trapped under the rocks was recovered after eight days. The incident traumatised his father so much that he lost his mental balance.
Zole, who had hoped to complete his graduation, has given up on that dream and taken up labour work. “My mother was the strength of our family,” he said. “She and my father worked as labourers to support my education. But since her death, my father has been unwell, and my only concern now is to care for him.”