Uddhav Thackeray takes stock of city's preparation for monsoon

A biker rides a motorcycle through the flooded streets of Bandra after Mumbai receives heavy spells of showers

Hours after the Maharashtra government extended lockdown till July 31, the Chief Minister's Office on Monday tweeted a photo of CM Uddhav Thackeray holding a meeting to 'assess Mumbai's monsoon preparedness and the Corona situation'. As per the tweet, the CM said that 'many people in Mumbai are seen crowding on streets or driving around for no reason and are posing a risk to others'

In a thread of tweets, the CMO wrote that people have been allowed to go to work (as per guidelines), go out for medical emergencies and other essential works, but the CM said that stepping out for no reason has resulted in crowding and traffic jams across the city.

Issuing clarification on the new set of guidelines, the Shiv Sena chief said that the reason behind the 2-km distance restriction is to prevent unnecessary movement.

After the new set of guidelines were issued on Sunday, the Mumbai Police had said that they seized over 7,000 vehicles on June 28 for violating rules of phase-wise unlocking issued by the state government.

During the meeting, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and MMRDA were instructed to ensure that water does not accumulate on streets during monsoon. Also, nullahs are being cleared to keep other diseases at bay during a pandemic.

Although the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Mumbai had predicted a significant amount of rainfall in the city and surrounding areas from Sunday, records show a different picture. Even though several places across the city witnessed moderate showers on Sunday, no significant rain activity was witnessed. While suburbs recorded rainfall of 27 mm, the city recorded only 2.2 mm.

However, the city is expected to get good rainfall in days to come. The weathermen had also issued a Yellow warning for Mumbai and surrounding areas suggesting thunderstorm and lightning along with rainfall.

The CM also instructed the authorities to employ locals for infrastructure works in places where there is a shortage of workers.

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