Pre-monsoon showers claim three lives in Mumbai
Mumbai, June 2: Pre-monsoon showers accompanied by gusty winds lashed Mumbai and surroundings on Saturday even as three people were killed in incidents of electrocution, officials said.
The rains started this evening in many parts of Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad and Ratnagiri after dense cloud formation since late afternoon, and later developed into a thunderstorm with lightning and continuous drizzling.
Flight operations at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport were hit with delays in arrivals and departures and diversions of several domestic, international and cargo flights.
While Sri Lankan Airways' Colombo-Mumbai flight was diverted to Ahmedabad, other flights of Jet Airways, GoAir, Qatar Airways and various airlines were also diverted.
Jet Airways announced that due to air traffic congestions following adverse weather conditions, delays of up to 45 minutes in departures and arrivals were expected till 11.30 p.m tonight.
In the first rain-related tragedy, two persons including a minor girl, were electrocuted when they came in contact with a live wire during heavy rains in Khindipada of Bhandup West here.
The victims -- Anil Yadav, 32 and 9-year-old Zara Yunus Khan -- were rushed to the M.T. Agarwal Hospital in Mulund, but were declared dead.
In another such incident in Bhandup East, Om Fadtare, 23, also died of electrocution.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), Mumbai issued a storm warning for Thane and surroundings, with chances of thunderstorms, lightning, strong winds and rains in many parts this evening.
Several areas of Mumbai suburbs and surroundings experienced brief power outages and snapped cable connections this evening following a technical snag in the Interconnecting Transformer of the MSETL in Kalwa on Friday.
"To minimize the inconvenience, we have ensured that the Reliance Energy's Dahanu Power Plant runs at its full capacity of 500 MW. We may continue rotational load-shedding in some areas till normalcy is restored in the grid to reduce discomfort to our customers," a Reliance Energy spokesperson said this evening.
Tata Power said that after the Kalwa incident on Friday, its Trombay Therman Power Station and other Hydro Units functioned full capacity to meet Mumbai's power requirements and thus prevented load-shedding.
Meanwhile, in view of the storm warnings in and around Mumbai, all civic and disaster units remained in a state of high alert to tackle any emergencies that may arise.
On account of the welcome showers, temperatures dipped sharply in Mumbai, from the average of 35 to around 26 degrees, as the citizens enjoyed a respite from the hot humid weather since the past few days.
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Aftab Poonawala faces threat from Lawrence Bishnoi gang; Tihar jail on high alert
Mumbai: Maharashtra police investigating the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique have uncovered new details linking Shubham Lonkar, the mastermind and a wanted suspect in the case, to allegedly planning a murder plot targeting Aftab Poonawala in Delhi. Lonkar is allegedly associated with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
Poonawala, who was arrested by Delhi police on November 12, 2022, is facing charges for the murder of his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar. He is accused of killing Shraddha, dismembering her body and stashing the remains in a refrigerator. Poonawala has been lodged in Tihar central jail since the arrest.
In a related development, Delhi police increased security measures for Poonawala on Friday after receiving information about a death threat against him. According to police, the threat is believed to be linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
A senior police officer mentioned that they received an update from different security agencies that the shooters behind Baba Siddique’s murder also wanted to target Poonawala in jail. “We are not sure of the authenticity of the threat, but it is being said that the shooters were conspiring with jailed gangsters to attack Poonawala. Since he is in Tihar jail, we have sent updates to jail officials,” the officer was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
An officer from Tihar stated that security has been beefed up and two night guards have been asked to check on him.
