Heavy rains pound Thane, Palghar in Maha; 2 persons swept away in flood waters, many areas inundated
Thane/Palghar: Heavy rains pounded Thane and neighbouring Palghar district of Maharashtra in the last 24 hours, resulting in water-logging in many areas and a number of incidents of tree fall, officials said.
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 township of Thane district collapsed on Wednesday night after heavy rains, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Dr Babasaheb Rajale told PTI on Thursday.
No person was injured in the incident, he said, adding a few cars parked in the complex were damaged.
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 ending at 8.30 am on Thursday, Thane Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi said.
Since January this year, the city has so far recorded 506.46 mm rainfall, compared to 198.32 mm in the same period last year, he 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 Manpada police station in Dombivli, while various offices reported leakages following heavy showers, it said.
A video of the water-logged police station went viral on social media platforms.
Local firemen and disaster management cell teams were on their toes, attending to several calls of water-logging and tree fall in Thane city in which at least half-a-dozen cars were damaged, Tadvi 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 seeds for growing paddy, district disaster management cell chief Vivekanand Kadam told PTI.
The body was recovered from the stream on Wednesday and sent to a government hospital for postmortem. A case of accidental death was registered, he added.
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JD(S) wants changes in certain provisions in One Nation-One Election proposal
Bengaluru (PTI): The JD(S) has requested its ally BJP to make changes in certain provisions of the proposed 129th Constitutional Amendment Bill linked to the ONOE proposal, particularly the special powers proposed to be given to the ECI to recommend postponement of elections in any state.
The Parliamentary Joint Committee held discussions with political parties in Bengaluru on Saturday regarding the Constitution Amendment Bill connected to 'One Nation-One Election' and sought their suggestions and opinions.
The JD(S) said suitable amendments had been proposed to the provisions empowering the Election Commission of India to recommend to the President the deferment of state elections, while also seeking legal safeguards for the stability of coalition governments and protection for regional parties during simultaneous elections.
"With regard to the Bill, the JD(S) extended support to the Constitutional amendment with certain conditions and amendments, while suggesting safeguards to ensure that regional parties are not adversely affected by the aggressive election campaigns of national parties during simultaneous elections," the statement said.
The party stated that coalition governments have been formed and functioning at both the state and national levels for several decades in recent years, and "there is a need for legal protection to ensure their stability".
"Therefore, it also suggested incorporating legal safeguards for the stability of coalition governments in the proposed Constitutional amendment," the party, headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, said.
The proposed Constitutional amendment grants special powers to the ECI to recommend to the President the postponement of elections in any state. Suitable amendments to these special powers have been proposed, the party said.
"On the above stated subjects, suitable submissions were made to the JPC," the party said in a statement, which has been posted on its 'X' handle.
According to the statement, the JD(S) delegation was led by M Mallesh Babu and included former MP D Kupendra Reddy, former Assembly Deputy Speaker M Krishna Reddy, former minister Venkatrao Nadagouda, MLA T N Javarayi Gowda, former MLA K A Tippeswamy and party legal cell president A P Ranganath.
