Published 20:11 IST, August 5th 2020
Mumbai Rains: CM Uddhav Thackeray reviews situation, advises citizens to stay indoors
On Wednesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray took stock of the situation arising out of heavy rains lashing Mumbai for the second consecutive day
On Wednesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray took stock of the situation arising out of heavy rains lashing Mumbai for the second consecutive day. He directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to stay on high alert. Thackeray cited the India Meteorological Department's prediction that the intensity of the rains will continue on Thursday. In view of this, the Maharashtra CM requested citizens to take precautions and not venture out of their homes except for absolutely essential purposes.
Thackeray asked the BMC Commissioner to ensure that the situation is handled with the cooperation of the police, Railway, Health Department, and the National Disaster Response Force. He also called upon the civic body to immediately act on inconvenience faced by citizens such as power outage and accumulation of water. The Shiv Sena chief also spoke to the MMRDA officials about preventing any mishap at multiple construction sites of the Mumbai Metro. Additionally, he reviewed the situation with district collectors of Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Palghar, Kolhapur, Thane, and Raigad districts as they have been experiencing heavy rainfall.
NDRF to deploy 5 teams in Mumbai
As per the IMD, Colaba and Santacruz recorded 22.9 cm and 8.8 cm of rain respectively from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm on Wednesday. At present, Mumbai is experiencing strong winds with wind speed reaching 70 km per hour along the coast. During the next three hours, intense to a very intense spell of rainfall is likely to continue over Mumbai. The BMC announced that temporary shelters have been opened at municipal schools between CST and Kurla where residents in vulnerable areas are being shifted.
Meanwhile, train services on the Harbour line between CSMT- Vashi and on the Main line between CSMT- Thane have been suspended due to waterlogging. Also, the local trains between Mumbai Central and Churchgate were temporarily suspended as of 5 pm on Wednesday. To deal with the situation due to incessant rains, 15 teams of the NDRF are being deployed in Maharashtra as follows- 5 teams (two en route) in Mumbai, 4 teams (two en route) in Kolhapur, two teams in Sangli and one team each in Satara, Thane, Palghar and Nagpur.
[Image credits: @CMOMaharashtra (Twitter)]
Updated 22:16 IST, August 5th 2020