Rain intensity reduces in Mumbai, but 1 more dies as tree falls on hut

Mumbai/Thane: A 22-year-old man was killed and another injured on Thursday after a tree fell on their hut in Mumbai amid rains, while two persons were swept away in swollen water bodies in adjoining Thane and Palghar districts which witnessed heavy showers, officials said.

This was the third death due to tree fall in the last two days in the financial capital.

Mumbai was lashed by heavy rains on Wednesday and overnight, but as the day progressed, their intensity reduced.

According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, the island city, eastern suburbs and western suburbs received 14.36 mm, 10.37 mm and 17.99 mm rainfall, respectively, between 8 am and 8 pm.

At around 2.30 am on Thursday, a huge banyan tree got uprooted at the Indu Oil Mill compound in the Byculla area and fell on a hut, trapping a few persons, a BMC official said.

After getting a call, fire brigade personnel reached the spot, cut the tree branches and brought out two injured persons from the hut. Both of them were rushed to state-run JJ Hospital where doctors declared one of them, Rehman Khan (22), as "brought dead", the official said.

The condition of the other person, Rizwan Khan (20), is stable, he said.

On Wednesday, two persons were killed in separate tree fall incidents in Mumbai's western suburbs.

In the backdrop of death of three persons, Ravi Raja, former opposition leader in the BMC, asked the civic body to appoint arborists (tree doctors) in every ward to ascertain the health of trees prior to monsoon.

The civic body received 13 complaints of tree/branch fall, four of short-circuit and two of house collapse till 6 pm, said the official.

The BMC said road traffic was normal and there was no diversion of buses of civic undertaking Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST).

Railway authorities said suburban train services on all networks were normal though commuters complained of some delays.

In the morning, a civic official said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted "moderate to heavy rain in Mumbai city and its suburbs with very heavy rainfall likely at isolated places" in the next 24 hours.

In the 24-hour period ended at 8.30 am on Thursday, Colaba in south Mumbai received 148 mm rainfall, while Santacruz in western suburbs recorded 121.6 mm rainfall, according to the IMD, Mumbai.

As per the BMC, the island city, eastern and western suburbs received 93 mm, 127 mm and 123 mm rainfall, respectively, in the 24-hour period ended at 8 am.

The IMD Mumbai measures rainfall at its observatories located in Colaba and Santacruz, while the civic body has its own automatic rain gauges installed at several locations.

An IMD official said seven lakes supplying water to Mumbai and neighbouring areas received "extremely heavy" rainfall in the past 24 hours.

Four of these lakes, Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, Tansa and Bhatsa, located in neighbouring Thane district, recorded 144 mm, 137 mm, 109 mm and 137 mm rainfall, respectively. Vihar and Tulsi lakes in Mumbai got 159 mm and 235 mm rainfall, respectively, while the Upper Vaitarna lake in Nashik district recorded 122 mm downpour, the official said.

Heavy rains lashed Thane and neighbouring Palghar district in the last 24 hours, resulting in water-logging in many areas and a number of incidents of tree fall, officials said on Thursday.

Two persons were swept away in swollen water bodies in the last two days. While the body of one of them was recovered, efforts were on to trace the other person, they said.

A number of cars were also damaged in Thane district in rain-related incidents, the officials said.

A portion of a compound wall of the upscale NRI Complex in Navi Mumbai collapsed on Wednesday night after heavy rains, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Dr Babasaheb Rajale told PTI.

No person was injured, but a few cars parked in the complex were damaged, he said.

A 16-year-old boy from Diva in Thane city was swept away in a swollen nullah on Wednesday night and efforts were still on to trace him, officials said.

Thane city received 200.08 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period ended at 8.30 am on Thursday, Thane Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi said.

Following heavy rains on Wednesday as well as on Thursday morning, several low-lying areas in Bhiwandi, Kalyan and Ulhasnagar townships of Thane were flooded, district disaster control room said.

Water entered several houses in low-lying areas and also inside the Manpada police station in Dombivli, it said.

In Palghar, a villager, Devram Ramji Gimbal (45), was swept away in a swollen stream in Wada taluka on Tuesday when he went out to buy paddy seeds, district disaster management cell chief Vivekanand Kadam said.

His body was recovered from the stream on Wednesday, he added.