Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is likely to hold a meeting of all District Collectors (DCs) through video conferencing on Tuesday in order to review the situation of heavy rains and floods in the state. "Deputy CM Ajit Pawar will chair a meeting of the district collectors through video conferencing at 9:00 am in Mantralay," an official statement said.
This comes as the state is reeling under severe rains for the last few days. Notably, this will be Pawar's first meeting with the district administration since his appointment as State's Deputy Chief Minister on July 2.
Orange alert for six districts in Maharashtra
The Regional Meteorological Centre, Mumbai of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall and issued an orange alert for six districts of Maharashtra till July 27. The weather department predicted that Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudrug, Pune, Kolhapur and Satara districts will receive heavy to heavy rainfall till July 27 and Mumbai is likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall on Tuesday. According to the IMD Mumbai, moderate spells of rain are very likely to occur at isolated places in the districts of Mumbai, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Kolhapur.
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Heavy rains hit normal life in Mumbai
Due to continuous rainfall in the city for the last few days, the Mumbaikars are facing several issues like traffic jams and waterlogging. Meanwhile, nearby areas are also prone to landslides due to heavy rainfall. On Sunday (July 23), a part of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway was blocked because of a landslide near the Adoshi village in Raigad.
Earlier on Monday (July 24), Pawar assured the legislative assembly the state government will look into the proposal to establish a base camp of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in Raigad district, where a massive landslide killed 27 people last week.
He was responding to a query raised by Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav. “The state government will look into the proposal and take necessary follow-up action for setting up a base camp of NDRF in Raigad district. There will not be any discrimination in providing assistance to affected people," Pawar, who also holds the finance portfolio, added.
(With inputs from agency)