Mumbai: Thane bears the brunt

The Thane administration called in five NDRF teams early Saturday. “Our three major points of rescue were the Mahalaxmi Express, a resort in Shahad and a petrol pump near Dombivli. All were successful,” said Thane Collector Rajesh Narvekar.

The overflowing of Ulhas river led to several villages going under water. “There was six feet of water in our village and the disaster management team helped us to get out. We don’t know what happened to our belongings,” said Rakesh Bhoye, a resident of Mothagaon ahead of Dombivli.

Ulhas river after heavy showers in Thane on Saturday. (Source: PTI)

Areas in Kalyan, Ambernath, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi, Badlapur and Titwala suffered serious waterlogging with rainwater entering houses in the urban areas too.

Siddhivinayak Nagar in Titwala was cut off from the main city by 2.30 am on Saturday. “My father has a leg injury. With water entering our houses, we started leaving as soon as dawn broke. The disaster management teams reached late Saturday and helped us get to a school nearby,” said Sushil Yadav (18).

Murbad, which received 332 mm of rainfall till 8.30 am on Saturday, was one of the worst hit in the district. At its Kishor primary health centre (PHC), four medical and paramedical staffers were stranded the entire Friday night.

Helper Balu Wagh, auxiliary nurse midwife Kavita Nimse and Class IV employees Sunita Satav and Kathod Satav had first decided to stay indoors when the rain intensified in Murbad. They sat on top of the tables in the PHC for hours. But by midnight, when the water level continued to rise, they first took shelter on a staircase of the one-storey structure and then spent the entire night on the terrace. By Saturday morning, Murbad had recorded over 300 mm of rainfall.

The four were rescued over 14 hours later by local villagers and the Murbad fire brigade. “They were rescued around 1 pm today. They were sitting on the terrace amid rain. It took hours to arrange for their rescue,” said District Health Officer Dr Manish Renghe. With NDRF busy with the stranded passengers in Mahalaxmi Express, government officials said rescue operations in Murbad were delayed.

Dr Vitthal Bodakhe, the Thane district manager of 108 ambulance service, said there has been a delay in transporting patients since Friday when the showers began. “But no emergency patient has been delayed so much that it had led to a medical complication,” he added.

An IAF helicopter rescued nine persons stranded on the terrace of a building near the River Wind resort on the banks of Ulhas river on Saturday afternoon. Ulhas is one of the most polluted rivers in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and is the subject of various petitions pertaining to industrial effluents in the National Green Tribunal.

“Years of neglect and pollution has led to the water pathways becoming clogged, be it natural or man-made. The water could go nowhere and that is why it’s overflowing and reaching the houses,” said river activist Janak Daftary. He added that regular cleaning of the river doesn’t take place, compounding the problem of encroachment.

Ulhasnagar Corporator Mira Tonde, who represents the Kurla camp area, said the river had been cleaned. “The river was cleaned but that’s not where the problem lies. Encroachment has made it difficult for us to reach smaller nullahs and channels. People throw their waste into the drains directly, choking them even after we clean them. This has led to this situation today,” she added.

Several people were stranded in different locations in Thane as the railway and road transport services took a hit. “I have been waiting at the station since they announced that services will resume shortly. But it has been four hours and no train has come,” said Aamna Sharif (26), a resident of Thane who was stuck at Badlapur station.

Another commuter, Gopal Jain, said he had to pay Rs 800 to reach from Kalyan to Ambernath. “Usually, it takes Rs 150, but today no one was willing to go. There’s a lot of waterlogging.”

KDMC officials said overflowing nullahs are behind waterlogging in the city.

“The water, instead of going in the nullahs, is gushing out of it, leading to waterlogging. The area was cleaned but heavy rainfall has led to this,” said an official.