Mumbai remains on ‘red alert’ with no respite from continuous rains that have thrown all life in disorder in the city. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted very heavy rainfall along with high wind speeds in the area and the red alert continues till Tuesday morning.
Private offices are requested to take up work from home measures wherever feasible and non-essential Government offices will be active on half a day, according to advice by State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). The citizens have also been requested to minimise going out and take care of instructions given by the official.
The IMD has alerted cities of Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad to weather warnings where it marked a red alert for possible heavy rainfall within the next 24 hours.
Hefty rainfall also led to a landslide on the Pune to Mumbai carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which is putting a hold on traffic. Some sections of the roadway have been reopened and officials continue to monitor the situation. There have been no reports of harm in the landslide.
Multiple landslides on the Bhor Ghat section of the Mumbai-Pune Railway line have forced trains to stop on the line between both cities. The Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw personally looks into the matter.
In the meanwhile, owing to heavy rains, four children have died and two others got injured with the collapse of a chawl in Mankhurd locality of Mumbai. Rescue operations by the Mumbai Fire Brigade, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the police and emergency services at the site were going on even as people were feared to be still stuck in the building.
Considering the extreme weather conditions, Maharashtra government has decided to declare a holiday for all schools and colleges in Mumbai and the authorities have asked people to remain indoors and not go to coastal area like Worli seafront.