Mumbai Paralaysed After Incessant Rain, Maha Toll Rises To 36; 7 Points

Mumbai Rains: Heavy rain has crippled the life in Mumbai since Sunday as it threw rail, air and road traffic out of gear, with several trains and flights being cancelled. With IMD forecasting of heavy rains, authorities declared a holiday in the city and adjoining regions, asking people to avoid stepping out of their houses.

Mumbai Rains: For the third consecutive day, Mumbai got paralysed by the incessant rainfall as many parts of the financial capital remained waterlogged. (Getty images)

Mumbai Rains: For the third consecutive day, Mumbai got paralysed by the incessant rainfall as many parts of the financial capital remained waterlogged, prompting authorities to declare a holiday on Tuesday. Twenty-two people even died in a wall collapse incident in city that happened yesterday. While atleast fourteen people lost their lives in rest of Maharashtra in rain-related incidents since Monday, officials said. Heavy rain has crippled the life in Mumbai as it has thrown rail, air and road traffic out of gear, with several trains and flights being cancelled. With IMD forecasting of heavy rains, authorities declared a holiday in the city and adjoining regions, asking people to avoid stepping out of their houses. A road caved in near a construction site in Chandivali and locals claimed that some people may have been washed away in the incident. A few vehicles and autorickshaws were stuck in the cave-in, which was at least 10 feet deep, said a local resident.

1) Death toll rises in Maharashtra

According to report, twenty-one people were killed and 78 injured in a wall collapse incident in the northern suburb of Malad in Mumbai following heavy rains on Tuesday morning. One more person succumbed to injuries late Tuesday night, raising the toll to 22. The injured were admitted to civic-run hospitals and 15 of them were discharged after primary treatment, a senior civic official told reporters here. Besides, the efforts by rescue workers to get a 15-year-old girl out of the debris of the wall which collapsed in Malad, also proved futile as she was brought out dead. Two persons died in Malad after they were locked up in a car flooded with rain water. One person was electrocuted in Vile Parle and a security guard was killed in a wall collapse in suburban Mulund.

Maharashtra: Bodies of 2 persons have been recovered by civil administration after Tiware dam in Ratnagiri was breached. About 22-24 people are missing. 12 houses near the dam have been washed away. Civil administration, police and volunteers are present at the spot. pic.twitter.com/JN6VQYmsEL

— ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2019

In Pune, six labourers were killed and three injured after a wall collapsed in Ambegaon area late Monday night. A wall collapse in Kalyan in Thane district early Tuesday killed three people, officials said. In Buldhana district, a 52-year-old woman was killed on the spot by a bolt of lightning.

2) Rain affects flight, train traffic

Altogether, 54 flights were diverted and 52 cancelled at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport due to inclement weather on Tuesday. On the other hand, many long-distance trains of the central and western railway were either cancelled or terminated ahead of final destination due to heavy rainfall, the official said. A Central Railway (CR) official said CR personnel, with the help of RPF jawans, rescued thousands of passengers stranded in local trains and served them tea, biscuits and other food items at stations. A senior official of the Western Railway said its suburban services were running between Churchgate and Virar even if the frequency was less. Watch | Heavy rains leave railway tracks water-logged

3) Power down, construction work stops

Power utility companies also suspended the supply in some suburban areas of Mumbai as a precautionary measure. The heavy downpour also forced Fadnavis to cancel his scheduled ground-breaking function of construction of a new building for MLAs. BMC additional commissioner Ashwini Joshi said an inquiry will be held into the Malad wall collapse and any official found guilty will be punished.

4) Schools and colleges shut, exams postpone

The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) declared a holiday for all schools and colleges, and the state government expanded it to include other parts of coastal Konkan region. The Mumbai University also postponed the exam of B.Sc Computer Science for first and second year students due to heavy rains, an official said.

5) CM Devendra Fadnavis takes note of the situation

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited the BMC Disaster Management control room and took stock of the situation. Fadnavis reviewed issues like railway traffic, road traffic movement and areas where more focus and assistance is required. "As a precautionary measure and as per IMD advisory on heavy rains, we declared holiday Tuesday," Fadnavis said. "We need to remain alert for the next two days," he added. Over 1,000 people were evacuated from Kranti Nagar, Kurla, to prevent any untoward incidents due to the overflowing Mithi river, he said. Fadnavis made a similar announcement in the state legislature, announcing a high-level probe into the wall collapse. Watch | Why does downpour bring Mumbai on its knees time and again?

6) Weathermen's prediction

Private weather agency Skymet said Mumbai is at "serious risk of flooding" between Wednesday and Friday. Monsoon was active over the entire north Konkan belt, including Mumbai, with IMD predicting heavy to very rainfall over most places and extremely heavy rain at a few places. On the IMDs forecast, the official said the intensity of the rainfall is likely to get intense during the next 24 hours in Mumbai and suburbs.

7) Disaster ready

The disaster management cell of BMC received over 3,593 complaints, including those about water logging, wall collapse and tree branch falling on the Helpline No 1916. All the 1,400 de-watering pumps of BMC are deployed at 53 flood-prone spots, including 22 chronic spots and assistant municipal commissioners have been asked to supervise their territory, she said. The Indian Navy deployed rubber boats and a team of naval divers from INS Tanaji, armed with lifebouys, life-jackets and food packets, rescued around 1,000 people stranded in Kranti Nagar slums of Kurla. (With inputs from agencies)