A day after incessant rainfall killing four people and crippling the financial capital of India, Mumbai on Friday woke up to cloudy skies and light rainfall with an orange alert by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in place for Friday, September 27. IMD has predicted 'thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and heavy to very heavy rainfall with gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph' in the area.
Maharashtra rain top points
4 deaths due to rain- The incessant Mumbai rains killed a total of four lives including a woman in Andheri who lost her life after falling in an overflowing drain while three others in Kalyan and Thane died due to lightning strikes.
Pune gets 3rd highest rainfall- IMD on Thursday also said that Pune reported “133.0 mm as the 3rd highest rainfall ever recorded". This is also the highest for the month of September.
Mumbai traffic becomes normal- A day after severe congestion owing to incessant rainfall, Mumbai's vehicular traffic restored normalcy on Thursday. Heavy rains on Wednesday and Thursday battered the city, inundating low-lying areas, halting local trains in their tracks and forcing the diversion of at least 14 incoming flights. Heavy vehicular traffic disruption was reported on Wednesday and Thursday.
Schools reopened in Mumbai- After a day's break in light of the inclement weather conditions, schools reopened in Mumbai on Friday. On Thursday the schools and colleges in Mumbai and its suburbs were shut amid a red alert for heavy rains. School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar declared a holiday.
Similarly, the Pune district administration has also issued orders to keep schools and colleges in Pune city as well as Pimpri Chinchwad area closed on Thursday. Schools were closed in Thane and Palghar as well on September 26.
Opposition slams Maha govt over flooding in Mumbai, Thane and Pune
In light of the devastating consequences of torrential rainfall leading to flooding in Mumbai, Pune and Thane, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Eknath Shinde-led state government.
"We (the undivided Shiv Sena which controlled the Mumbai civic body from 1997 to 2022) were always there, but no one from the Sena-BJP was there on the ground yesterday to help people in Mumbai, Pune and Thane. No officer from the civic bodies was seen on the ground to deal with the situation," Thackeray said.
"Where will people go to address their issues in the absence of local representatives?" Thackeray further added pointing out that polls to the civic bodies must be conducted at the earliest.
Furthermore, former Mayor Kishori Pednekar also lashed out at the government on Thursday over the death of a woman who died by falling into an overflowing drain amid heavy rainfall in the city.
“Just by putting lights here and there, putting colours and painting will not work, they should pay attention to the infrastructure. If life is lost, then the family members feel the actual pain. I think they (State Government) should pay attention to it. The accident that happened is heart-wrenching. Only investigation is not enough. A case should be registered against the administrator sitting here under section 302,", Hindustan Times quoted her as saying.
