Mumbai Rain Updates: Intermittent spells of light to moderate rain in city for next few hours; toll in Ratnagiri dam breach rises to 9

23 feared dead after dam breach in Maharashtra’s Konkan region; 11 bodies recovered

Twenty three persons are feared dead after a dam in Maharashtra’s coastal Konkan region breached following incessant rains leading to flood-like situation in downstream villages, officials said Wednesday.

“Bodies of 11 persons have been recovered so far, a police official said. The total toll would be 23,” he added.

“The Tiware dam in Chiplun taluka of Ratnagiri district has a storage capacity of 20 lakh cubic metre. It developed a breach late on Tuesday night,” a district official said.

The dam breach caused a flood-like situation in seven downstream villages, with 12 houses being swept away.

PTI

Toll in Ratnagiri dam breach rises to nine

The toll in Ratnagiri district’s Tiware dam, which was breached earlier on Wednesday, has risen to nine with twenty four people still missing. The search and rescue operation is underway.

Intermittent spells of rains likely over Mumbai and neighbouring areas during next 2-4 hours

Skymet Weather tweeted that intermittent spells of light to moderate rain and thundershower will occur over Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Palghar, Pune, Raigarh, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg and Thane during next 2-4 hours.

Mumbai Police’s heartwarming gesture takes Twitter by storm 

Mumbai Police on Tuesday became a good Samaritan for a stray dog stuck in deep water as the city faced heavy downpour. The police tweeted out a video showing two police officials helping the dog.  

Devendra Fadnavis orders SIT probe into Ratnagiri dam breach which killed 6

Devendra Fadnavis has spoken to Ratnagiri Collector and other local officials to take stock of situation after the Tiware dam incident. Fadnavis expressed grief over loss of lives and ordered an SIT inquiry. Fadnavis also asked state Cabinet minister Girish Mahajan to visit the district.

Watch: Teware Dam in Ratnagiri  breached on Wednesday morning 

Six dead, 16 missing after dam breach in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri

At least six people were killed and 19 went missing after a dam in Maharashtra’s coastal Konkan region breached following incessant rains leading to flood-like situation in downstream villages, officials said on Wednesday. The Tiware dam in Ratnagiri district developed a breach late Tuesday night after heavy rains, a district official said. A local police officer said six bodies have been recovered so far while 19 people are still missing.

The dam breach caused a flood-like situation in seven downstream villages, with as many as 12 houses being swept away. When contacted, Additional Superintendent of Police, Ratnagiri, Vishal Gaikwad said a search operation has been launched by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and state police personnel.

Aircraft landing with unstabilised approach in bad weather to attract punitive action: DGCA chief

In a stern warning to airlines, the DGCA director general said on Wednesday that all aircraft should refrain from landing with “unstabilised approach” while experiencing adverse weather conditions and initiate a go around, non adherence to which will invite punitive action. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had in a communique on Tuesday asked airlines to make available sufficiently experienced crew in the cockpit and that crew rostering should factor in fatigue element associated with the operations during adverse weather conditions.

The circular, titled ‘Monsoon Operations’, comes as the main runway at Mumbai airport continues to remain shut after a SpiceJet plane from Jaipur veered off it while landing and got stuck in the adjacent grass area.

Mumbai Airport not shut, thing will normalise very quickly, says Civil Aviation ministry 

Clarifying on reports about the dysfunctional runway at the Mumbai Airport, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, “Mumbai Airport has not been shut. One of the runways which used to take 45 flights per hour, is now taking 36 flights. So, there has been some dislocation. It will be sorted out very quickly.”

Earlier, reports said that the main runway of the Mumbai airport was likely to remain closed for flight operations till Thursday as a SpiceJet plane overshot the runway and got stuck their on Monday. ANI reported today that air bags were laid below the belly of SpiceJet SG 6237 aircraft which lay stuck on the grassy area.

Central Railway receives flak for following Sunday schedule on working day as people report massive crowd on Cenral line stations

The Central Railway on Wednesday decided to operate its suburban services in Mumbai division on Sunday time table, which means it will ply fewer trains, compared to weekdays when trains are run in full capacity. 

The move attracted much criticism from Mumbai residents, who were inconvenienced due to massive crowds at Central line stations during peak commute hours. 

Toll of Malad East wall collapse rises to 24

24 persons have lost their lives after a wall collapsed on hutments in Pimpripada area of Malad East due to heavy rainfall, yesterday. Earlier, it was said that 21 people have lost their lives in the incident. 

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has already ordered an enquiry into the incident, while Shiv Sena, which heads the local body BMC has blamed the incident on the monsoon claiming it was a result of a natural calamity.  

Mumbai at ‘serious risk of flooding’ between 3-5 July

Private weather agency Skymet said Mumbai is at “serious risk of flooding” between 3 and 5 July. “Close to 200 millimeters or more rain per day is likely during this period, which could hamper normal life,” it said.

Spicejet, GoAir, Indigo waive cancellation fee as city airport’s main runway remains dysfunctional

 In the wake of record rainfall in Mumbai, airlines on Tuesday started offering waiver on cancellation, rescheduling charges for flights to and from Mumbai. 

Mumbai limps back to normalcy as Best, local train services resume; Central Railways to ply fewer trains

India’s financial capital limped back to normalcy Wednesday morning with public transport resuming services after torrential rains, that lashed the city since Sunday, subsided. 

A senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official on Wednesday said that with respite from incessant showers, since there was no more water logging in any part of the city and suburban trains and Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) buses are running according to schedule. According to a BEST spokesperson, out of 3,203 buses, 2,950 were plying on roads.

The Central Railway has decided to operate its suburban services in Mumbai division on Sunday time table, which means it will ply fewer trains, compared to weekdays when trains are run in full capacity.

NCP Majeed Memon raises Mumbai rain issue in Rajya Sabha

NCP Rajya Sabha MP, Majeed Memon, Wednesday, raised the issue of condition of infrastructure as Mumbai rains swept the city for the past 2 days. He said that the heavy rains have paralysed the economic capital yet again, over 27 people have lost their lives, transport was shut and the state machinery at a standstill. He said that over 27 people have lost their lives, and who will take responsibility. 

“It’s not as if the BMC does not have enough funds to come up with a permanent solution and mend the roads. It is the richest municipal corporation. But this happens every year only because of dereliction of duty, corruption, and poor plannig”

City breathes easy after break from incessant downpour but weathermen predict increased rainfall by evening

A break from rainfall in the early morning hours brought some relief to Mumbai residents. However, this would only be a temporary respite as moderate rainfall is expected to begin by late afternoon which may intensify again by Wednesday evening.