Heavy rains pounded Maharashtra capital Mumbai and several other parts of the western state on Tuesday with more than 3,500 people shifted to safer places from flood-prone and vulnerable spots.
Chief minister Eknath Shinde, who took charge of the top post last week, reviewed the situation during the day and asked government officials to give utmost priority to preventing loss of lives in rain-related incidents. He said teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been been deployed wherever required and more personnel will be sent if needed.
Here are some of the top deluge-related updates from the state:
– Mumbai’s Powai Lake began overflowing in the evening amid heavy downpour, a civic official said. The lake has a storage capacity of 545 crore litre and started overflowing at 6:15 pm, he said. “However, water from the lake is not potable and is used for industrial purposes.”
– A part of a road in Mumbra in Thane district caved in, a civic official said. TMC RDMC chief Avinash Sawant said the incident took place in Samrat Ashok Nagar around 6:30pm, adding there were no reports of injuries.
– A vehicle from the chief minister’s convoy hit a four-wheeler in a minor accident in south Mumbai, an official said. The incident took place in the evening when Shinde was at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters to review the rain-related situation.
– Massive waterlogging was reported from several urban areas, including Mumbai, while the level of some rivers was rising rapidly. Traffic remained stalled in several parts of the country’s financial capital, besides closure of subways and delay in movement of local trains.
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– One of the newly constructed roads leading to the Navi Mumbai International Airport, below the Ulwe and Wahal flyovers in Panvel Taluka, was also inundated. Some vehicles were stuck on the road, including a private bus, which were then towed.
– The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued ‘red’ and ‘orange’ alerts predicting very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall. Th authorities have been directed to shift people from spots that are vulnerable to landslides so as to avoid loss of lives, Shinde said a day ago.
– “A red alert has been issued for Raigad and Ratnagiri districts (indicating heavy to extremely heavy rains). Therefore, the administration has been asked to take necessary steps and all response systems have been put in place,” Shinde said.
– The CM also lauded the efforts of BMC’s disaster control room as almost every spot in the city could be tracked live with the help of over 5,700 CCTVs on a real time basis.
– He said this time there was no water-logging in central Mumbai’s Hindmata area, a chronic flooding spot, and road traffic there was smooth. This was possible due to various efforts taken by the civic body.
– The chief minister said even a moderate rainfall adversely affects suburban train services in Mumbai as there are 25 vulnerable spots which get flooded quickly.
– Shinde also appealed to citizens living in dangerous building to co-operate with the civic administration and the government.
(With inputs agencies)
