77 per cent pre-monsoon work of Mithi River completed

As the state continues to grapple with COVID-19 crisis, Maharashtra Chief Minister recently made sure that the country's financial capital does not face another hassle in the form of waterlogging during monsoon this year. On Tuesday, CM Thackeray said that the city ready to face the challenges that the monsoon will bring upon its onset.

As part of the preparations for the monsoon, 400 km of nullahs in the city have been surveyed by drones and about 77 per cent of pre-monsoon cleaning of Mithi river has been carried out successfully.

Along with this, 324 water pumps have been installed in Mumbai at areas that are prone to flooding. The government has also set a system to drain out 6,000 litres of excess water every second to avoid waterlogging in the city.

CM Thackeray had recently held a pre-monsoon meeting with key ministers and divisional commissioners where he claimed that large-capacity pumps have been installed at Kurla and Sion to prevent waterlogging, and nearly 609 road works will be completed by 10 June, while 32 bridge repairs are underway.

The meeting, via video conference, was attended by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, disaster management minister Vijay Vadettiwar, among others, along with officials of the coast guard, Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force.

मुख्यमंत्री उद्धव ठाकरे यांनी व्हिडीओ कॉन्फरन्सद्वारे घेतला आपत्ती व्यवस्थापनाचा मान्सूनपूर्व आढावा. उपमुख्यमंत्री @AjitPawarSpeaks , आपत्ती व्यवस्थापन मंत्री @VijayWadettiwar , राज्यमंत्री @prajaktdada , मुख्य सचिव अजोय मेहता, तसेच रेल्वे, विविध संरक्षण दलांचे प्रतिनिधी सहभागी. pic.twitter.com/YLB3kKLz2f

— MAHARASHTRA DGIPR (@MahaDGIPR) May 26, 2020

More importantly, he has asked the state agencies to coordinate and plan in order to ensure that water-borne diseases, in the wake of monsoon rains, and COVID-19 do not spread.

Maharashtra disease surveillance officer Dr Pradip Awate while talking to Mumbai Live had said that the number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai may witness a rise in the monsoon season. He added that the coronavirus has some similarity with the Influenza virus and it is known that the transmission of influenza increases during monsoon. 

Dr Awate, who also heads Maharashtra’s epidemiology department, informed that it is not yet known how the coronavirus would behave in changing weather, especially in Mumbai given the rising levels of humidity and rains here during the monsoon season.