Uddhav pegs Aug 5 rain-caused loss to over Rs 500 Cr in Mumbai, seeks Centre's help

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said Mumbai incurred damages worth over Rs 500 crore in the August 5 downpour and heavy winds that battered India's financial capital. The CM said Mumbai recorded 333 mm rainfall during the 24-hour period on August 5, while wind speed that day was 70 km to 80 km gusting to 106 km.

"The cyclone Nisarga has caused a loss of over Rs 1,065 crore in the state and the rains along with the storm on August 5, 2020, have caused an estimated loss of over Rs 500 crore in Mumbai," Thackeray said, according to a government release.

Thackeray said that amid adverse weather conditions, the State government and the city civic body showed readiness and brought the situation back to normal within hours. Highlighting that Mumbai rests on a low-lying topography, the CM said that flooding is caused due to tidal conditions on the sea during rainfall.

The Chief Minister also informed that due to efficient work done by Mumbai municipal officials in many places through the pumping stations of the corporation, major accidents could be avoided.

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Demand for PM-led panel on disaster relief

During the meet, PM Modi noted there is good coordination between the Centre and State governments during crisis situations and added his dispensation is with all states while facing calamities, the statement said. On this, Thackeray demanded that a committee be set up under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister for disaster relief and coordination among all the flood-hit states.

He asked the Centre to transfer a plot of the Union Commerce Ministry to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation at Mahul for setting up a pumping station. He said that if this pumping station is set up, it will be possible to extract a large amount of rainwater from Hindmata, Dadar and Wadala — the usual sites in Mumbai waterlogged during monsoon.

The meeting discussed various important issues such as river connection project, state-of-the-art software for real-time data, riverbank encroachments, construction of flood dams, diverting water from flooded areas to other areas.

Moreover, the CM asked the Centre to install Doppler radar in Aurangabad in central Maharashtra for weather forecasting in the states Marathwada region. The PM also called for greater public investment in localised early warning system so that people in a particular area can be provided with a timely warning in case of any threatening situation such as breach of river embankment, inundation level, lightning etc.

PM meets State CMs

PM Modi reviewed the preparedness of Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala to deal with south-west monsoon and current flood situation in the country in a virtual meeting with the Chief Ministers of those states on Monday. The meeting was also attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, both the Minister of State in Home Affairs and senior officers of the concerned Central Ministries and organizations.

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