New Delhi: Amid the monsoon mayhem in the country’s commercial capital, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday declared a holiday for all government and private schools and colleges on July 27 after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a "red alert" for the metropolis, new agency PTI reported.
The municipal commissioner and administrator of the BMC, Iqbal Singh Chahal, issued a statement to this effect on Wednesday night.
"In view of the red alert issued for Mumbai, the BMC has declared a holiday for all municipal, government-run and private primary, secondary and higher secondary schools and all colleges in the city and suburbs on Thursday as safety of students is a top priority," the statement said.
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"The BMC requests all citizens to stay alert, remain indoors and kindly follow instructions from the administration," PTI quoted Chahal as saying.
It is to be noted that the weather office issued "extremely heavy rainfall" warning (red alert) for Mumbai city and its suburban areas from 8 pm on July 26 to afternoon on July 27.
While the BMC said that the IMD’s 'red alert' will be valid till afternoon, the weather office clarified that it will be valid till 8.30 am.
Meanwhile, torrential rain lashed Mumbai on Wednesday, throwing life out of gear and slowing down the vehicular traffic.
The city received 61.19 mm of rainfall between 8 am and 4 pm, while eastern suburbs and western suburbs of Mumbai recorded 34.53 mm and 40.68 mm of rainfall, respectively, in the same period.
The intensity of rain was more in the suburbs in the morning hours while the island city received intermittent heavy showers in the afternoon.