Aurangabad, Sep 28 (PTI) As many as 459 people were rescued from flood-affected areas in the last 48 hours across Osmanabad district of Maharashtra and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) even deployed a helicopter to reach those stranded in floodwaters, officials said on Tuesday evening. Water was released from Manjara dam during the day, causing flooding in downstream villages and parts of neighbouring districts, they said. Six persons including two children were rescued by the NDRF by deploying a helicopter at Dautpur village in Osmanabad tehsil, while ten persons were similarly rescued from Saundane Amba village in Kalamb tehsil. The Osmanabad-Ausa road was blocked as water was flowing over the Kamegaon-Samudrawani bridge. The Manjara dam was filled to the capacity which necessitated opening of eighteen gates of the dam, an official said.Twenty persons were rescued from a house in Wakadwadi village of Kalamb tehsil. Some 125 persons were rescued in Ramwadi, 114 in Irla, 35 each in Ter and Borkheda and 90 in Dautpur, the official said.Balaji Kamble (30), resident of Irla, was washed away and search was on for him. At least 20 big and 17 small cattle perished in the floods while 80 huts were damaged.Two teams of NDRF participated in the rescue operations.The collector of the neighbouring Latur district, Prithviraj B P, told PTI that a family of three including a child was reportedly stranded at Pohregaon in Renapur tehsil of the district, but rescue teams could not reach the spot due to the bad weather and low visibility."We are trying other ways to rescue them. The helicopter (used by the NDRF) has halted in Latur. It will fly tomorrow morning to rescue them," he said.The Osmanabad district has received 824.90 mm of average rainfall this monsoon, 204 mm higher than the 620.60 mm recorded last year, with Bhoom tehsil receiving 961.60 mm rain this season so far, an official said.After several years, the district, part of the generally parched Marathwada region, has received such robust rain, which stands at 136.78 per cent of the annual average, he added."Dams like Sinakolegaon, Chandani, Manjara, Terna, Lower Terna, Ruibhar, Kurnoor and Bori are overflowing. Ujani Dam, which is the main source of water for Osmanabad city, is also overflowing. Heavy rains have affected Kharif crops like soybean, moong, urad, tur, cotton and bajra," he said. PTI AW BMN KRK KRK