KOLHAPUR: Light showers and overcast skies across the district on Thursday gave an inkling of the onset of monsoon The district administration and the weatherman have said monsoon is likely to reach South Maharashtra within 24 hours. On Thursday, Kolhapur district received an average 6.33mm rainfall.The district administration has issued instructions to all departments to be prepared in advance to tackle any untoward situation if heavy rains lash the district.According to officials of the district administration, the southwest monsoon is likely to cover Karnataka and some parts of south Konkan and Goa in the next 24 hours and enter south Maharashtra passing Sahyadri mountain range.Kolhapur city may witness moderate rainfall in the next 24 hours. The district has received average 4.24mm rainfall on Sunday, 4.79mm on Monday, 6.22mm on Tuesday and 10.51mm on Wednesday."The monsoon is yet to arrive in south Maharashtra but the region continues to receive moderate rainfall since last four days. As the monsoon strengthens in the next few days, the region is likely to receive moderate to heavy rainfall," said an official attached with the district collectorate.The catchment areas in the district is expected to receive heavy rainfall and as a precautionary measure, instructions have been issued to officials to be ready to tackle any situation.Officials of the disaster management cell said they are well prepared to tackle any untoward incident in the district during monsoon. The cell is closely communicating with all the officials at the taluka level to provide assistance during any emergency.The low-lying areas in the city and the people living on the banks of Panchganga river and other rivers have been told about the primary measures to be taken if the water level from the rivers rises during the onset of monsoon, officials said.Officials of water resources department from all the three districts, including Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara, are in touch with each other to manage the water level in the dams and discharge water into rivers during heavy rainfall in the catchment area. They are also in touch with their counterparts from Karnataka to manage the water level of rivers that enter Karnataka from south Maharashtra.

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