City knee-deep in rain woes

One person was killed and two were injured when a portion of a hillock fell on a part of a building adjacent to the Heera Panna market at Haji Ali junction on Monday.

One person was killed and two were injured when a portion of a hillock fell on a part of a building adjacent to the Heera Panna market at Haji Ali junction on Monday. The landslide led to a portion of the hillock to collapse on the retaining wall of the building,killing 22-year-old Rama Maruti Suke. Suke,a plumber,was working on the ground floor of the Vellard View building. He was crushed under the debris and died instantly. The injured include Mohd Shamim (23),who also worked as a plumber in the building,and driver Manoj Kumar Mishra (24).

The landslide damaged the rear of the building. The collapse forced the retaining wall to crash onto the building,damaging the third floor of the C-wing of the highrise. At the time of the incident,five workers were carrying out maintenance and repair work in the building. While none of the residents were injured,more than 500 residents of the nearby buildings vacated their homes.

As a precautionary measure,we have directed the residents of nearby buildings to vacate their homes. Both BMC and private structural engineers are surveying the building and the wall, said Milind Sawant,Deputy Municipal Commissioner. According to A N Shinde,Chief Fire Officer,The retaining wall is over 150 ft long and 40 ft high and is slowly giving away due to the landslide on the adjoining hillock. There are some buildings on the sides of the retaining wall which are at risk.

Another landslide killed two in Thane district,said officials.

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Meanwhile,rains broke another record on Monday as Santacruz recorded the highest 24-hour rainfall this season,receiving a whopping 232.6 mm rainfall from 8.30 am on Sunday to 8.30 am on Monday,while Colaba received 178.6 mm in the same period. The suburbs broke the record set only a day earlier when Santacruz received 220.4 mm rainfall from Saturday morning to Sunday morning. Incessant rains continued to lash the city for the third consecutive day with Colaba receiving 92.7 mm rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm on Monday,while Santacruz received 25.2 mm in the same period.

Monday recorded a high tide of 4.63 metres at noon. India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials have predicted heavy to very heavy rains along with strong winds in some areas.

So far this monsoon,suburbs have received a total of 2,821.7 mm rainfall,which is 945.7 mm more than its season normal and the island city has received 2,434.4,which is 702.3 mm more than its normal.

The city came to a grinding halt on Monday morning,with the rain wreaking havoc on transport and other services. Traffic was slow in many areas such as Suman Nagar junction,Milan Subway,SV Road from Bandra to Borivali,Link Road,Sakinaka junction,LBS Marg Ghatkopar,Mulund eastern and Western Expressway. Many private offices in the city declared a holiday due to the rain and the BMC ordered its schools shut for the day.

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In low-lying areas like Kurla,Mankhurd,Borivali and Kandivali,residents complained of knee-deep water. Major waterlogging complaints were received by the BMC from over 36 spots in the city,including 12 in the island city,11 in eastern suburbs and 13 in western suburbs. More than 59 tree-falling incidents were reported across the city.

BEST plied 90 additional buses at various locations across the city. Flight operations at the Mumbai airport were delayed by 5-10 minutes,said a MIAL spokesperson.

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