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2005 redux? Incessant rain, high tide throw life out of gear in Mumbai

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2005 redux? Incessant rain, high tide throw life out of gear in Mumbai

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Incessant rains on Tuesday wreaked havoc in Mumbai and its adjoining areas as it flooded the low-lying areas leading to traffic snarls and delay in suburban railways.

In scenes reminiscent of the deluge in July 2005, incessant rains for the fourth straight day, on Tuesday, drowned Mumbai down under, flooding vast areas of the city, disrupting road, rail and air traffic and throwing life out of gear.

By Tuesday evening, Mumbai had received rainfall that was nine times higher than the average and if predictions by the Met department are anything to go by, then very heavy rains will continue to lash the Maharashtra capital and its hinterland over the next 24-48 hours. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued an alert, asking Mumbaikars to be cautious and preferably to stay indoors.

The city’s Colaba weather station, which covers south Mumbai, recorded 37.6mm of rain, while the Santacruz weather station which monitors the suburbs recorded 126mm rain from 8.30am to 2.30pm, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The Colaba station recorded 152mm of rain between Monday andTuesday mornings, the highest 24-hour rainfall this year.

Various areas in north Konkan also recorded heavy to very heavy rain in the last 24 hours with Alibaug recording 161mm and adjoining regions of Dahanu and Harnai also recording three digit figures. Navi Mumbai too received 119.85mm rain in the past 24 hours.

“A low-pressure area that had developed over Odisha has moved westwards towards the central parts of the country. There is an upper air cyclonic circulation over the eastern part of the state and a trough that extends over the west coast. All these factors have led to very heavy rain over the Konkan coast, especially Mumbai,” said KS Hosalikar, deputy director general, western region, India Meteorological Department (IMD).

A combination of high tide and heavy rains can push water into the low lying areas of the city, which often clogs the storm water drains leading to more inundation. A high tide up to 3.29metres is expected to hit at 4.30pm

The continuous downpour had left most parts of the city – especially its low-lying regions of the western and eastern suburbs – submerged by Tuesday afternoon, with road traffic being the obvious casualty. Serpentine jams were reported in large parts of Mumbai while on several arterial roads like SV Road and the Eastern and Western Express Highways, vehicles that almost seemed to be floating on the waterlogged roads were captured by media channels.

The local train services – often termed as the lifeline of the city that never sleeps – were also severely disrupted. “Due to water logging on tracks & point failure at Bandra following very heavy rains, 3 lines except UP Fast line are affected. Efforts are on to start traffic on 3 lines (except UP fast line) at Bandra as soon as possible by attending the points,” the Western Railway tweeted.

Predictably, the worst hit areas were Hindmata, Lalbaug, GTB Nagar, Sion, Mulund, and low lying areas of Parel, Worli, and Dadar. Areas near the Byculla railway station in the east and towards the Byculla zoo were also under water.

Mumbai Police issued orders for traffic diversions at select places as traffic policemen tried to ease congestion at various points in the city. However, the traffic department had failed to issue any advisory despite the flood-like situation till Tuesday evening.

“South bound #traffic towards Matunga diverted to Wadala due to water logging on EEH (Amar Mahal) SG Barve Rd & VN Purav Rd,” Mumbai Police tweeted from its official handle.

The deluge also forced shut the 5.6-kilometre Bandra-Worli sea link, a key landmark of the city that helps drastically reduce driving time between the Western suburbs and south Mumbai, for the first time on Tuesday since it opened in 2009.

The Mumbai traffic police also recommended that people avoid venturing out to areas like Worli and Haji Ali given the warning of high tides and the risk of loss to life from big waves of the Arabian Sea crashing on to the shore.

Mumbai Police have also urged commuters and motorists to dial 100 to apprise them of the situation if they are stuck somewhere. People can contact Mumbai Police on Twitter by tagging @MumbaiPolice.

Mumbaikars took to twitter share visuals of flooding and traffic snarls.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]Television visuals showed people wading through chest-high water. The incessant rains have also affected the city’s most popular festival, Ganeshotsav, that began on August 25.

The downpour prompted many schools to send children home early, although others were on holiday for the festival. The School Bus Owners Association, which works with 200 schools in Mumbai, said schools in western suburbs stayed shut and many cancelled their afternoon shifts due to waterlogging.

Health services across the metropolitan city were also disrupted as water entered hospital compounds across the city. KEM Hospital, Mumbai’s largest municipal medical facility, went under knee deep water. “We have already moved about 30 patients from ground floor to upper floors. We are taking all measurements to ensure patients aren’t inconvenienced,” Dr Avinash Supe, KEM Hospital’ dean, said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

India News

3 dead, 9 hospitalised after gas leak at fertiliser plant in Maharashtra

According to police, the explosion released toxic chemical fumes.

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Three individuals, including two women, lost their lives and nine others were hospitalised following a gas leak caused by an explosion in a reactor at a fertiliser plant in Maharashtra’s Sangli district, an official said on Friday.

The incident occurred at approximately 6:30 PM on Thursday at the Myanmar Chemical Company, located in Shalgaon MIDC within Kadegaon tehsil.

Sangli Superintendent of Police Sandip Ghuge stated that the gas is suspected to be ammonia.

According to police, the explosion released toxic chemical fumes. “Approximately 12 people in the facility were affected and subsequently taken to the hospital. Tragically, two female workers and a security guard have died, while nine others are currently receiving treatment,” stated Sangram Shewale, Senior Inspector at Kadegaon police station.

Seven of the injured individuals have been admitted to Sahyadri Hospital in Karad, with five of them in critical condition in the ICU.

The deceased women have been identified as Suchita Uthale (50) from Yetgaon in Sangli district and Neelam Rethrekar (26) from Masur in Satara district, PTI reported.

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Ahead of Delhi Elections, Arvind Kejriwal launches Revdi Par Charcha campaign to seek feedback on freebies

Arvind Kejriwal said 65,000 meetings will be held across Delhi at micro levels by the AAP leaders and workers.

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Ahead of Delhi Elections, Arvind Kejriwal launches Revdi Par Charcha campaign to seek feedback on freebies

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday launched a campaign with a tagline Revdi Par Charcha to seek public feedback on freebies. The campaign comes ahead of the assembly elections, which is scheduled to be held in February.

Former Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal launched the campaign with his colleagues at the party office, saying while the opposition calls freebies as revdi, the party calls it services. This campaign will start on November 25 and will continue for 15 days until December 10, discussing the issues with common man.

Notably, the opposition has been targeting the AAP for providing free electricity, water and free public buses for women among other facilities. However, AAP feels freebies help citizens live a life of dignity.

Gopal Rai, AAP’s Delhi unit chief, said that so far, politicians used to enjoy the facilities, while citizens paid taxes. He continued that Arvind Kejriwal’s government decided that the people should also get the facilities like the politicians, adding the BJP called their attempt revdis. He said that AAP is launching the ‘Revdi Par Charcha’ campaign to discuss with the people in the city if the government should provide the facilities or not.

Launching the campaign, Arvind Kejriwal said 65,000 meetings will be held across Delhi at micro levels by the AAP leaders and workers. He said that AAP has six revdis for the people of Delhi. Mentioning that the Prime Minister and BJP have said several times that Kejriwal is providing freebies to the people that should be stopped, the former Chief Minister said that now people will now tell them if they want these six freebies.  He further concluded that if the BJP is elected here, they will stop these services immediately.

While listing the six services, the AAP national convenor said that Delhi is getting free electricity round the clock. He added that there was a time when Delhi used to see power cuts for 8-10 hours, but AAP ensured that the situation changed. He also noted that his party is providing free water, free pilgrimage to senior citizens, free bus rides to women, free world-class education and free medicine and treatments. Additionally, the pamphlet launched by Arvind Kejriwal also listed that soon the women in Delhi will get Rs 1,000 per month as well, later termed as the seventh revdi by the former Chief Minister.

Reports said that the paper will be circulated across the national capital. The paper also reads that if the reader feels they are getting huge water bills, they should not pay it. It mentioned that AAP will waive all water bills once Arvind Kejriwal is re-elected.

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Rahul Gandhi says air pollution in North India a national emergency, tourism declining, global reputation crumbling

“We need a collective national response, not political blame games,” the Congress leader said on his X handle.

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Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the air pollution in North India is a national emergency that needs a collective national response and not a political blame game. The Congress leader added that due to air pollution tourism is declining and “our global reputation is crumbling”.

It is a public health crisis that is stealing children’s future and suffocating the elderly, Gandhi said, adding an environmental and economic disaster that is ruining countless lives.

“As Parliament meets in a few days, MPs will all be reminded of the crisis by our irritated eyes and sore throats. It is our responsibility to come together and discuss how India can end this crisis once and for all,” the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said.

The former Congress chief said the poorest “among us suffer the most”, unable to escape the toxic air surrounding them. Families are gasping for clean air, children are falling sick, and millions of lives are being cut short, he added.

The Rae Bareli MP noted that the pollution cloud covers hundreds of kilometres. He said cleaning it up will require major changes and decisive action from governments, companies, experts, and citizens.

“We need a collective national response, not political blame games,” the Congress leader said on his X handle.

Gandhi also shared a video on a social media platform where he discussed the capital’s air pollution with environmentalist expert Vimalendu Jha. In the video, the Congress leader said he has been facing eye-burning and breathing issues and how the last week in Delhi has been terrible.

He said, “I tell my mother to leave town this month.” Jha explains to Gandhi that the sources of air pollution in Delhi are episodic and perennial. Episodic sources are firecrackers and stubble burning, which affect the month of November. “Vehicular contributes 50 per cent of Delhi’s pollution and construction-related roadside dust is another 30 per cent,” Jha said.

The Air Quality Index in Delhi has been severe since November 16, making it five consecutive days till Wednesday. On November 15, the average AQI was 396 (very poor).

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