MMR inundated: Rivers swell, Thane wells up with woes

The continuous spell of heavy rain since Wednesday night hit the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, causing Ulhas, Waldhuni and Kamwari rivers in Thane district to cross the danger mark and leaving over 5,500 residents stuck at 67 spots on Thursday

The continuous spell of heavy rain since Wednesday night hit the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, causing Ulhas, Waldhuni and Kamwari rivers in Thane district to cross the danger mark and leaving over 5,500 residents stuck at 67 spots on Thursday. Amid shocking visuals from Badlapur, Ambernath, Kalyan and Bhiwandi, authorities claimed all residents stuck in the floods in different parts of Thane district were rescued safely and no casualty or injuries were reported.

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In Shahapur, around 100 state transport buses were sent to help passengers stranded in mail trains on the Khadavli- Kasara railway route. At Umbarmali railway station, around 2,500- 3,000 passengers who were stranded in a long-distance train due to waterlogging on railway tracks, were safely rescued in buses.

Eighteen roads across the district were closed either due to flooding or because they were washed away. The residents were rescued and shifted to 18 locations by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF).

Shivaji Patil, deputy collector, Thane district, said, “There is no casualty anywhere in the district. We had deployed three teams of NDRF one at Umbarmali railway station, one in Kalyan and one in Badlapur. The situation was under control by Thursday evening, however one team of NDRF is kept as standby in case of any emergency. The downpour in short duration led to the overflowing of rivers and further led to flooding in several parts of the district.”

The seven talukas in Thane district – Thane, Kalyan, Murbad, Bhiwandi, Shahapur, Ulhasnagar and Ambernath – received 147.8mm rain as of Thursday, while a total of 2,433 mm rain was received since the onset of the monsoon.

In Ambernath taluka’s Badlapur locality, 12 residents were rescued from Barage road premises and eight residents from nearby premises. The fire brigade team rescued 70 disabled animals and 10 persons from an orphanage in Chamtoli, Badlapur.

Residents were rescued from Suyognagar in Kalyan, while Shastrinagar chawls in Titwala were evacuated. Residents from Varap, Shahad, Kamba and Mharal villages took shelter in a school nearby. In Kamba village, 25 villagers stuck in their homes were rescued using life jackets and tyres. The Raita bridge connecting the Kalyan-Murbad road was shut as the bridge submerged. Eighty families living near the mosque in Balyani, Kalyan (West) were shifted to a school. Residents of Ashoknagar and Shivaji nagar in Kalyan (East) were also shifted. The Mohili pumping station in Kalyan was shut due to waterlogging followed by which water supply to several parts of the city was suspended.

“It is a flooding-prone area. Around 1.30am, the water level started rising and we left the houses. The authorities served us notices asking to vacate the houses, but they never gave us an alternative accommodation,” said Chetan Ranpise, 33, whose houses in Shivaji Nagar locality Waldhuni, Kalyan was flooded.

The fire brigade team of Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) rescued 20 residents stuck at Ambika Nagar, Anupamnagar and Bhavani nagar, 100 residents stuck at Govindwadi and Waldhuni in Kalyan and Raju Nagar, Motagaon in Dombivli. In Bhiwandi, four truck drivers who were stuck in a nullah at Amne village were rescued after five-hour long operations. Around 40 villagers who were stuck in Ganeshnagar village in Bhiwandi around 12.15am on Thursday, were safely rescued by the team of Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF) in a four hour long operations. Several villages in Shahapur were submerged.

The team of NDRF rescued 59 persons from Kamba village near Kalyan. “Two teams were deployed in Kalyan and Bhiwandi,” said Pavan Dev Gaur, deputy commandant, NDRF.

Ten people stuck in a bungalow at Mohan Edge, Barvi road, Badlapur, posted their plight on social media, followed by which the Alert citizen forum of Ambernath alerted the authorities concerned.

“The team of fire brigade reached the spot and rescued the residents using boat,” said Satyajit Burman, founder of ACF, Ambernath. DS Gawade, senior police inspector of Badlapur west police station, said, “Our team along with the fire brigade team managed to rescue them and sent them to a safer place.”