Rs 10 lakh fine on 4 mini pumping station operators for waterlogging after Mumbai rains
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Mumbai (PTI): The Mumbai civic body has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh each on the operators of four mini pumping stations for failing to install and operate pumps to clear the water accumulated at key junctions here following heavy rains.
Mumbai witnessed heavy rains on Monday, which caused waterlogging in several low-lying areas and led to the suspension of suburban train services on some routes.
Vehicular traffic was affected due to waterlogging in areas like King's Circle, Mantralaya, Dadar TT East, Parel TT, Kalachowki, Wadala, Hindmata, Kemps Corner, Churchgate, Chinchpokali and Dadar.
In a release issued late Tuesday evening, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said mini pumping station operators at four points -- Hindmata, Gandhi Market, Yellow Gate and Chunabhatti -- all located in low-lying areas prone to waterlogging, were penalised Rs 10 lakh each.
As per the tender conditions, the operators must have set up mini pumping stations at these locations and made them operational before May 25 as part of the city's pre-monsoon preparedness plan, it said.
"As per the monsoon planning made by the BMC, the operators of the mini pumping stations appointed to pump water from low-lying areas failed to set up the system as per the terms and conditions and did not operate it with full capacity," the release said.
The civic body has set up 10 mini pumping stations across Mumbai to address waterlogging issues, especially in flood-prone low-lying areas with operations contracted out to private agencies, it added.
However, during the "record rainfall" on May 26, with several areas receiving up to 250 mm rain within 13 hours, the pumping systems at these locations failed to operate effectively, leading to waterlogging and traffic disruptions, it said.
The failure to timely and adequately drain water affected vehicular movement in some areas and briefly disrupted suburban train services near Masjid station, according to the BMC.
It said Chunabhatti received comparatively less rainfall, but pumps there were not functioning at full capacity, prompting the civic body to include the site in the punitive action.
Any negligence or lapses in monsoon management will not be tolerated and will invite strict action, the BMC said.
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MP cruise boat tragedy: Search ops expanded to trace four missing passengers
Jabalpur (PTI): Army divers and disaster response teams on Saturday expanded their search at Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh to locate a man and three children still missing after the cruise boat tragedy that claimed nine lives two days ago, officials said.
With 28 of the 41 identified passengers onboard the ill-fated cruise boat rescued safely, police are preparing to register an FIR in connection with the accident that occurred at the reservoir in Jabalpur district on Thursday evening, they said.
The search radius has been expanded to 5 km in the backwaters of the Bargi Dam, located downstream of the Narmada River, area sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI.
Nine people drowned in the incident, while 28 were rescued, and efforts are ongoing to trace the missing persons, he said.
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According to the police, more than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, began the search operation at 5 am on Saturday to trace Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, his son Tamil (5), Vijay Soni (6) and Mayuram (5).
Mishra said that an inquest case has been registered and the post-mortem of nine deceased persons has been completed.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will soon register an FIR," he said.
Investigators have said that CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the ill-fated boat, and the names of 41 persons, who boarded the vessel, have been ascertained so far.
Collector Raghvendra Singh confirmed that a search is underway for four missing persons.
The rescue operation, being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local divers, was briefly affected around 9 am due to strong winds.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members after survivors alleged negligence and safety lapses, including failure to provide life jackets.
The government also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, sank during a sudden storm around 6 pm on Thursday, and the wreckage was retrieved from the dam water on Friday, after the rescuers confirmed that there were no more bodies inside.
Eyewitnesses have said that strong winds made the water choppy, prompting passengers to raise an alarm and ask the crew to steer the vessel towards the riverbank.
A survivor alleged negligence by the crew and described a last-minute scramble for life jackets.
