The Shiv Sena, which rules the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), today lauded the civic body’s efforts to ensure that the situation did not ‘go out of hand’ in Mumbai which has received more than 468 mm of rain in last 12 hours.
In an editorial published in party’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the saffron party noted that all officials are out on roads and helping people to reach their destination, besides ensuring the situation remains under control of the administration.
"The BMC's preparedness to tackle the natural calamity ensured that the situation did not go out of hand. The civic body should be complimented for this. Even after heavy rains, no big untoward incident has taken place," it said..
"Mumbai and Maharashtra have always received the blessings of Ganpati. We believe that God will ease this trouble as well," the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said.
Sena, which has been ruling the cash-rich Mumbai civic body since over two decades, said the heavy downpour reminded the megapolis of the cloudburst on July 26, 2005, when there was about 950 mm rainfall in 24 hours.
"Even the IMD on Monday said the rainfall was more than their expectations. The sun was not visible throughout the day and the high tide added to the city's woes. Yet, Mumbai's spirit won over the natural calamity," it said.
Meanwhile, Mumbai continues to reel under the impact of heavy rains with MeT department predicting heavy rains in the coastal regions of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Torrential rains pounded the metropolis throughout the day yesterday. The city gauged a whopping 298 mm of rainfall, the highest in a day in August since 1997.
So far, five deaths have reported from different parts of the city. The city and its suburbs virtually have a public holiday today with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis advising people to stay back home unless there is an emergency.
