Heavy rains continue to lash Maha, 2 killed in landslide

A man and his teenage daughter were killed and two other family members injured on Wednesday after a landslide in Vasai town of Maharashtra's Palghar district following heavy rains, officials said.

Local fireman and a team of the National Disaster Response Force rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation.

Following the landslide, a boulder from a hillock crashed on the house of local resident Anil Singh (45) at Waghralpada in Rajavali area of Vasai around 6.30 am, District Disaster Management Cell chief Vivekanand Kadam said.

The man and his daughter Roshni Singh (16) died, he said.

His wife Vandana Singh (40) and son Om Singh (12) got trapped in the debris. Some locals and firemen later pulled them out and they were admitted to a hospital for the treatment of their injuries, he said.

Anil Singh's body was retrieved from the debris around 10.30 am and of his daughter at about 1 pm, the official said.

The search operation was later suspended and work was on to clear the debris, Palghar Collector Dr Manik Gursal said.

The district, located about 100 km from the state capital Mumbai, has been witnessing very heavy rains since Tuesday night which caused water-logging in many low lying areas.

Some trees collapsed on Wednesday on a section of the busy Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway in Palghar where a pipeline laying work was underway, Kadam said. 

300 families in flood-hit Hingoli unable to cook food since 4 days

Nearly 300 families in a village in Maharashtra's Hingoli district have been unable to cook their meals since last four days after flood destroyed their food grains and other belongings.

Heavy rains near the Asana river led to flooding in Kurunda village under Vasmat taluka in Hingoli and nearby areas on Saturday and Sunday.

When contacted, a local revenue official said the flood water has receded now and the affected people will be provided an assistance of Rs 5,000 each.

Kurunda sarpanch (head) Raju Ingole told PTI on Wednesday that flood water had entered more than 1,100 houses in the village, damaging the food grains and other belongings of the residents.

Though the flood water has now receded, there is continuous rainfall in the village and adjoining areas. Nearly 150 houses in the village have collapsed, he said.

Initially, the gram panchayat distributed food to people, but the task has now been taken over by NGOs, he said.

"There are still 200 to 300 families in the village who are unable to cook their meals as their food grains and other household items have been damaged in the flood," Ingole said.

Flood water entered about 14,000 hectare of land in Kurunda and nearby places, affecting the crops and 162 animals perished, a revenue official said.

The administration had to make temporary shelters for the flood-affected people in nearby schools, he said.

When contacted, Vasmat tehsildar Arvind Bolange said, "The flood water has receded, but rains are still lashing the area. An amount of Rs 5,000 each will be deposited into the accounts of flood-affected people by today."

Incessant rains continue in Mumbai; road traffic hit

Meanwhile, incessant showers lashed Mumbai and its neighbouring areas on Wednesday morning, leading to flooding in many low-lying areas and traffic snarls on roads, officials said.

The local trains, considered as the lifeline of the metropolis, were largely unaffected on the Central Railway and Western Railway routes. The suburban services on the Harbour Line were running slow, according to railway officials.

Some areas, including the Andheri subway, which connects the east and west parts of the suburb, were flooded and police had restricted its use by citizens.

The Western Express Highway, connecting suburbs to south Mumbai, also witnessed heavy traffic, a Mumbai traffic police official said.

“There was heavy traffic on the route in Borivali, Goregaon, Jogeshwari, Andheri and up to some extent near Bandra,” the official said.

The Colaba (in south Mumbai) and Santacruz (western suburb) observatories reported 24 mm and 44.6 mm of rainfall, respectively, in the 24-hour period till 8.30 am on Wednesday.

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), 20 locations in Mumbai received nearly 40 mm showers in six hours till 9.30 am on Wednesday.

“It is not a very high rainfall, but if it continues for some hours there could be water-logging on streets, further affecting the vehicular movement," an IMD official.

The MeT department has predicted a wet spell for the state capital on Wednesday and Thursday.

The cumulative rainfall in Mumbai has already surpassed its average precipitation in the present monsoon season, as per the IMD data.

There was water-logging up to 1.5 to two feet at the Andheri subway, following which traffic was divert to the S V Road, a police official said.

Flooding was also reported at the Kamani junction in Kurla and traffic there was normal.

In the Deonar eastern suburb, there was water-logging up to 0.5 feet at Neelam Junction. There was similar inundation on the Mankhurd railway bridge and traffic was moving slow, the official said.

Water accumulated up to one feet at the Bandra-Worli Sea Link gate, due to which traffic movement was slow in Worli, he said.

A tree collapsed in Bandra-Kurla Complex area, following which traffic was diverted from there to the J B Junction.

Traffic was slow at Paresh Park Market in Vikhroli, a bus depot near Santacruz railway station, Dadar TT, Wadala Shakkar Panchayat, near the Fatima High School in Ghatkopar, Sonapur Junction and Khar railway junction due to water accumulation, the police said.

A bus got halted at the Pedder Road, slowing down traffic on the route, they added.