Mumbaikars heaved a huge sigh of relief on Wednesday as the situation returned to normal in the rain-ravaged city following a let-up in incessant downpour and restoration of public transport services, even as at least 11 rain-related deaths were reported from different parts of the metropolis and neighbouring Thane and Palghar districts.
On a day when the State Government had declared holiday for schools and colleges in the city and a majority office-goers chose to stay at their homes, the thick clouds hanging over the city skies cleared, flooding on the roads across the city receded and the authorities restored the badly affected suburban trains and bus services.
The train services on Mumbai’s lifelines – the suburban networks of Central Railway main line, harbour line and Western Railway –limped back to normal, as the heavy inundation on the railway tracks receded. Similarly, the vehicular traffic on the city roads resumed normally, after the authorities used pumps clear the water flooding the roads.
Much to the comfort of Mumbaikars, the Regional Meteorological Central, Mumbai has meanwhile forecast “light rain or showers” in the city and suburbs for the next 48 hours. During 12 hours between 8.30 am and 8.30 pm on Wednesday, the city and suburbs received relatively scanty rainfall of 6.4 mm and 7.6 mm respectively.
In a citizen-friendly initiative, the Mumbai helped the citizens tow away their vehicles stranded on the city roads to the nearest garage or petrol pumps. “If your car is out of fuel/ stranded #Dials100 or 8454999999 or tweet us for free towing till the nearest fuel pump or garage,” the Mumbai police put out a tweet in the morning.
Of the total rain-related deaths, at least six such deaths were reported from different parts of the city. In a tragic death, the body of a 30-year-old person – identified as one Priyan – was found in a locked car at Sion in north-central Mumbai in the morning. Priyan is believed to have been suffocated to death, after having failed to come out of his car during heavy rains on Tuesday.
While one person identified as Shyamshad Khan (17) was electrocuted at Dharavi, four persons – including a one-and-a- half-year-old boy and two-year-old girl – were killed in wall or house collapses at Vikhorli and Ghatkopar north-east Mumbai.
Four persons –including a girl and a women – were swept away in swollen waters in Palghar district, while an unidentified body of a 35-year-old was recovered from a nallah in Thane city.
Dr Deepak Amrapurkar, a gastroenterologist with the Bombay Hospital, has been missing since Tuesday. Speculation has it that he fell into a manhole at Prabhadevi in north-central Mumbai. However, his body has not been recovered so far.
Talking to media persons, Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta attributed Tuesday’s massive inundation across the metropolis to “extreme weather condition” and “choked up drains” “Mumbai city received 325 mm in 12 hours. Apart from heavy rain fall received in a short span of time, we had to deal with plastic bottles and bags and other garbage stuck in drains which impeded the flow of water to the Arabian Sea. Since morning, we have removed garbage a staggering 5,000 metric tonnes of plastic bottles, bags and other garbage from the drains, “the civic chief said.
Meanwhile, a blame game started among the leaders of various political parties. Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam demanded that the ruling Shiv Sena step down from office in the BMC and Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta tender his resignation from his post accepting “moral responsibility” for Tuesday’s flooding across the city.
“After the July 2005 Mumbai floods, the State Government had allocated Rs 1,600-crores to the BMC for the BrihanMumbai Stormwater Disposal System (BRIMSTOWAD) project. It is shocking that not even 40 per cent of the the works under the project have been completed even after 12 days,” Nirupam said.
“Uddhav Thackeray had said early this year that there would not be any glooding in Mumbai would during the monsoon. What happened to his claimIJ Where have the billions of rupees spent on civic works goneIJ” leader of Opposition in Maharashtra legislative Council Dhanjan Munde of NCP, wondered.
Dismissing the allegations by the Congress’ allegations, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray heaped praise on the civic administration for taking swift and elaborate measures to restore normalcy in the city. “ If Mumbai has returned to normal in less than 24 hours after the massive dislocation caused by rains, the credit goes to the civic administration,” Uddhav said.
Declining to comment on the criticism of the Shiv Sena, “I have nothing to do the critics. I do not want to politicise the issue by responding to my critics. The Only question I would like to ask my critics as to what have they done for MumbaiIJ”.
Meanwhile, Mumbai’s dabbawalas or people who deliver lunch to offices cancelled their delivery of over two lakh tiffins. “ Dabbawalas, who had gone to deliver tiffin boxes to office goers were stranded at various places. All them returned home. They will be returning the emptied boxes to the office goers later today. As a result, we have cancelled our services today. We will resume our operation tomorrow,” spokesperson of the Mumbai Dabbawala Association Subhash Talekar said.
