| Record rainfall leaves Mumbai crying for help |
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| Indo-Asian News Service |
Mumbai, July 27 (IANS) At least 37 people were killed here and tens of thousands remained stranded Wednesday in India's financial capital as relentless rain paralysed rail, road and air traffic forcing the government to call a two-day holiday.
As the weather office warned of continuing rains and strong winds over the next 48 hours, life in this city of 15 million struggled against flooded roads, snapped telephone links and crippled traffic. "This kind of rainfall is the first in Mumbai's history. It is an unprecedented crisis," admitted Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, announcing Wednesday and Thursday as holidays.
Though the skies cleared and the rain let up somewhat by afternoon facilitating the resumption of skeletal services, people continued to suffer the impact of 24 hours of ceaseless rain in the seaside metropolis. According to the state government, close to 100 people have been killed in rain-related accidents across
Maharashtra. Large numbers of people were trapped in mudslides. "Until the rain stops, the relief efforts are unlikely to gather momentum," Deshmukh said. Officials said the fury of rainwater claimed 37 lives in Mumbai with several missing in rain-related accidents. In Marol in Andheri East, nine schoolchildren were killed in a wall collapse.
More than 80 people are reported stuck in a double-decker bus in Kurla.
Though the let-up in rain allowed water to recede in some areas, people were still forced into marathon walking to reach their homes after a difficult night marooned in stations, buses, vehicles and offices. The Mumbai-Goa highway was inundated, halting long distance traffic. Bridges were washed away, rail tracks submerged, telephone lines hit and large areas suffered power cuts. Rescue teams of the Indian Army and Navy were called in for relief efforts. Expressing concern over the aftermath of the record-breaking 94 cm of
rainfall in parts of the city, Maharashtra MPs sought financial relief from the centre in parliament.
Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, Shiv Sena MP Anant Geete said the continuous downpour in the state had left a trail of devastation and affected transport and communication links. "Water entered my house and I had to ask my family to lock up the house and shift to upper floors," Geete said. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said the entire house was concerned over the situation. Among the worst affected areas were Bandra, Mahim, Matunga, Dadar, Santacruz, Byculla, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Mulund, Thane and Badlapur.
Arun Chopra, a corporate executive, left office at 4.30 p.m. Tuesday for a 20 km drive to his suburban home in Hiranandani Gardens. His car was stuck in waist-deep water en route and he had not reached home till noon Wednesday, completely cut off from his wife and daughter as mobile services collapsed in the city. The city's lifeline, the train
services, were paralysed due to waterlogged tracks and thousands of people camped in the stations where food stalls were kept open through the night. "We are appealing to people to stay wherever they are," said Shailendra Kumar, spokesman of Western Railways.
Three local trains were made operational by late afternoon, but people remained in uncertainty about quickly changing schedules. All flights from Mumbai remained cancelled and incoming flights were being diverted to other cities. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said it would take time to restore air traffic. "I was stuck in a taxi for 10 hours till 1.30 a.m. on my way to the airport. I couldn't make it for my return flight to Delhi, and had to put up in a hotel for the night," Partha Guha, a financial consultant, told IANS.
--Indo-Asian News Service
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