Heavy rain in Mumbai; local train services, road traffic hit
Mumbai: Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and neighbouring Thane district overnight, causing water-logging at several places and affecting local train services and road traffic movement on Tuesday morning, officials said.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appealed to residents to stay at home and urged commercial establishments, except those providing essential services, to remain closed on Tuesday as heavy rains are likely to continue for next 48 hours.
Suburban train services on the harbour line were stopped in the morning due to water-logging on rail tracks while services on the western and central lines were also affected, a civic official said.
Local trains in Mumbai and suburbs are currently being operated only for those involved in essential services in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
A landslide near suburban Kandivali disrupted vehicular movement from western suburbs towards south Mumbai, the official said. Traffic movement from Byculla to south Mumbai was also affected due to inundation at some places, he said.
The Santacruz observatory in western suburbs recorded 254 mm rainfall since Monday night while the Colaba observatory in south Mumbai recorded 220 mm rain during the same period, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Mumbai, Deputy Director General K S Hosalikar said.
The weather station at Mahalaxmi recorded 172 mm rain, while that at Vidyavihar reported 159 mm rain. Besides, the weather stations at Ram Mandir (near Goregaon in western suburbs) and Mira Road recorded a rainfall of 152 mm each.
The other weather stations in north Mumbai and Thane also recorded over 150 mm rainfall. The trend would continue for next 48 hours, the official said.
The BMC has deployed high capacity water pumps to discharge water from streets in Byculla, Bhandup and some other areas, a civic official said.
The civic body appealed to commercial and business establishments, except those involved in essential services, to remain shut in view of the heavy downpour.
"Residents should also stay at home and avoid venturing out, the BMC said in a statement.
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Theatre actor playing demon in Ramayana kills pig on stage, eats meat raw in Odisha; arrested
Bhubaneswar/Berhampur, Dec 2: A 45-year-old theatre actor playing the role of a demon in Ramayana was arrested after he ripped the stomach of a live pig on stage and ate its meat in Odisha's Ganjam district, police said.
The incident sparked a statewide outrage and was condemned in the assembly on Monday.
Besides the actor, identified as Bimbadhar Gouda, one of the organisers of the play that took place in Ralab village in Hinjili police station area on November 24 was also arrested for cruelty to animals and violation of the Wildlife Protection Act.
Ruling BJP members Babu Singh and Sanatan Bijuli strongly condemned the incident in the assembly.
Action was taken against the duo after videos of the incident went viral on social media, with animal rights activists also condemning it and calling for strong action against the accused.
"We are also looking for the persons who displayed snakes in the theatre. They will also be arrested soon," Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sunny Khokar said.
He, however, did not disclose the name of the arrested organiser.
The state government, in a guideline issued in August last year, prohibited the public display of snakes, including by certified snake handlers.
"We have registered a case against the theatre actor who killed the pig and ate its meat in the theatre, and arrested him," said Hinjili police station inspector-in-charge Srinibas Sethy said.
To attract audience, the theatre group displayed snakes while a demon ripped the stomach of a live pig with a knife, which was tied to a ceiling of the stage and ate some of the organs in full public view, he said.
A group of the villagers organised the theatre on the occasion of Kanjianal Yatra in the village.
