Fifteen National Disaster Response Force teams have been deployed across Maharashtra in view of the heavy rains across certain parts of the state, the chief of the force said on Thursday.
NDRF chief SN Pradhan said that at the request of the state government, four teams were deployed to Ratnagiri, two each to Mumbai, Sindhudurg, Palghar, Raigad and Thane and one to Kurla (a suburban area in Mumbai).
An NDRF team normally has 47 personnel, equipped with inflatable boats, wood and pole cutters and basic first aid kits to rescue residents affected by rains and floods, reported PTI.
Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and its adjoining areas on Wednesday. The India Meteorological Department issued a red alert for Mumbai for Wednesday and a yellow alert for the next four days. A scientist at the Mumbai branch of the weather agency said that yellow and red alerts were also been issued for some districts on the Konkan coastal strip.
Besides Mumbai, an orange alert has also been issued in Pune, Satara and Kolhapur districts for Saturday and Sunday, and in Bhandara, Gondia and Gadchiroli districts for Sunday, reported India Today.
Till 8.30 am on Thursday, Santacruz recorded 23 cm of rainfall, Colaba 9 cm, Belapur 21 cm, Kopar 20 cm, Manpada 19 cm, Vikhroli 21 cm, Long Island 17 cm, Mathern 12 cm, Raipur 11 cm, Mormugao- 9 cm, Shirali 8 cm and Parbhani, Mandla, Harnai 7 cm each, reported The Times of India.
Meanwhile, at least 11 people, including eight children, died late on Wednesday night after a residential building collapsed on another structure at a slum in Mumbai’s Malad area. Officials said that more people could be trapped under the debris. They said search and rescue operations were underway. The police have detained the contractor of the building and booked him under section 304 (2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
After the heavy downpour in Mumbai on Wednesday, there were reports of waterlogging and traffic snarls. Bus routes were diverted in as many as 30 locations and the subways in Milan, Khar, Andheri and Malad were shut down.
On Thursday, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said that earlier it used to take 3-4 days for the water to drain out, but now conditions were better. “At many places, there was no water...at others, it was below knees,” she said, adding that the traffic situation was also sorted.
Central Railways said that the train was running on all corridors. “Railways have kept all machinery on alert mode and monitoring the situation closely,” a spokesperson of the Central Railways said.
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