State forms panel to oversee relief operations

The Maharashtra government on Sunday announced closure of schools, colleges and other educational institutions in rain and flood-hit Mumbai, Thane and Raigad on Monday and formed a committee to monitor relief and rehabilitation work in affected areas of the state.

However, offices in these areas would be open, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh told reporters here on Sunday. The government also formed a high-powered committee of district guardian ministers and senior bureaucrats to monitor relief and rehabilitation in the affected areas.

"We have formed the committee to monitor the situation," Deshmukh said, adding the death toll in the state was at 891.

The forecast for Mumbai, Konkan region and Goa for the next 48 hours is heavy to very heavy rains with gusty winds, he said, adding municipal officials in these areas have been put on alert to deal with the situation that may arise due to heavy rains which has been lashing the region since last night.

Regarding power supply, he said Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) had managed to restore power in all parts of the state where the supply was disrupted due to flooding.For Kurla, in suburban Mumbai, where power is provided by Reliance Energy Ltd (REL), company officials have been asked to restore supply by Monday. evening, he said. MSEB officials will also helping in restoring power supply, he added.

Deskmukh said mobile medical teams were placed in various parts of the state to tackle health hazards that might arise after the flooding. "Officials have been instructed to shift people staying in areas which were prone to landslides," he said.

The chief minister said 1,138 areas in Mumbai were identified for disinfection operations and 50 per cent of it had already been covered.

"Water levels are rising in Mahad, Panvel and Roha in Raigad and warnings have been issued in the area," Deshmukh said, adding people from five villages in Raigad were shifted to safer areas.

Traffic on central railway was affected due to water-logging at Gadkari Road. However, authorities were working to restore it, he said. Traffic on western railway section was normal.

On the harbour line, water-logging was reported at Kings' Circle, Hindmata and Kalpana Talkies. However, as the high tide has subsided, water would slowly recede, he said.

Deshmukh said 8,863 metric tonnes of garbage was cleared on Saturday and BMC was working overtime to clear the remaining piled up garbage. He said the government had been successful in restoring complete water supply, which was affected in the state due to the floods.

In Mumbai, till 8 am, 60 mm rainfall was recorded at Colaba and 66 mm at Santa Cruz while between 8.30 am to 11.30 am, 42 mm was recorded at Colaba and 41 mm at Santa Cruz.

Control rooms were set up in the state and a helpline was formed in Mumbai which could be contacted at 22671959 and 22620220, he added.