The monsoon season is expected to hit the state of Maharashtra by June 8. Whereas pre-monsoon activities are expected to start by May 30, as per weather experts.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday had announced that Mumbai is ready to face the challenges that the southwest monsoon will bring in its wake. The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) had earlier approved of the pre-monsoon repairs and works on 107 slum projects in the city. Earlier this week, the SRA also issued transit passes to developers’ staff and workers.
The 400 km of nullas in the city have been inspected by drones, those overflowing cleaned, about 77 per cent of cleaning work of Mithi river has been completed, water pumps are said to be operational, and a system of pumping water at the rate of 6,000 litres per second has been put in place. Following a pre-monsoon meeting with key ministers and divisional commissioners, Thackeray had stated that large-capacity pumps have been installed at Kurla and Sion to prevent waterlogging, and about 609 road works will be completed by 10 June, while bridge repairs are underway. The CM has further directed state agencies to coordinate and plan so that water-borne diseases do not spread in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.
Mumbai receives an average 2,354 mm of rainfall from June to September, with July being the wettest month. While the rains and the consequent flooding have always been a problem in Mumbai during the monsoon, this time around the challenges have intensified as the city’s slums, usually located along creeks and in low-lying areas, are the hotspots for the novel coronavirus. Thacker further asserted that arrangements have been made so that food grains and medicines can be provided in remote areas during the monsoon season.
As per the coast guard officials, nine ships and eight aircraft have been kept on standby to deal with any potential disaster.
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