46 Die in Maharashtra Deluge
As many as 46 people have died in Maharashtra since Tuesday night when incessant rains began across the state, severely hitting rail, road and air traffic, said media reports.
After reviewing the situation, deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal said that 46 people were killed and 600 homes were damaged in the state in the torrents that disrupted normal life and caused floods, reports said.
The State government has announced an ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those seriously injured, said reports.
Bhujbal said that a landslide occurred near Pune, which has been cleared, reports said.
According to reports, Mumbai has received 277.8 mm of rainfall in June so far, while the suburbs got 283.8 mm.
“There has been lighting strikes at different places in the State. Some have been washed away by the water, some died because of falling of trees,” Bhujbal was quoted as saying.
The deputy chief minister claimed all preparedness on part of the government to meet any situation, said reports.
He said that three teams of the National Disaster Response Force stationed in Mumbai at Bhandup, Kurla and Andheri East were well-equipped with boats, cutters to extricate people in case of an emergency, underwater cameras and lights, reports said.
Two State Reserve Police (SRP) companies are also on standby, apart from the nine deployed in the city.
(Based on internet reports)
