As many as 84,452 people, including over 40,000 in Kolhapur district, were shifted to safer places in Western Maharashtra`s Pune division on Friday as rains battered the region and rivers were in spate, officials said.

The Panchganga river near the Kolhapur city was flowing at a level higher than that witnessed during the peak of floods in 2019, officials said. Besides Pune and Kolhapur, the division also includes the districts of Sangli and Satara. Satara is hit hard especially by heavy rains and landslides.