Amid heavy rains, Maharashtra CM directs officials to keep NDRF squads on standby

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 5 (ANI): In the wake of heavy rainfall in various parts of the state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed officials to monitor the situation and keep the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) squads ready, said the CM's office (CMO) on Tuesday.
Shinde held a discussion with Chief Secretary Manukumar Srivastava along with directing all the related districts' guardian secretaries to stay alert and control the situation.
The Chief Minister himself is in touch with the district collectors of all the districts of the Konkan region to ensure that there is no loss of life and property due to heavy rains in the next few days.
Particularly in Raigad, Ratnagiri, Thane, Palghar, Sindhudurg and Kolhapur districts, the CM has directed citizens to inform about the rising water and flood situation due to rains and make arrangements at appropriate places for evacuation.
Shinde has directed officials to keep a close watch on the situation in Mumbai.
Due to heavy rains in the district, several rivers in the state have reached the warning level.
The Kundalika River has crossed the warning level and the water level of Amba, Savitri, Patalganga, Ulhas and Garhi rivers is slightly below the warning level.
Apart from this, the Chief Minister directed the district collectors and the Water Resources Department to remain alert and take proper precautions as the water of the Jagbudi and Kajli rivers is flowing at the warning level.
Shinde also directed the officials to keep a close watch on the situation in Chiplun and to warn the citizens by giving repeated instructions.
In the last 12 hours, Mumbai recorded 95.81 mm of rain in the last 12 hours.
The India Metrological Department has also issued an alert for heavy rains for the next five days in the state. The alert was issued for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Beed, Latur, Jalna, Parbhani and several other areas in Maharashtra.
The IMD has predicted that isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall and thunderstorm/lightning is very likely over Gujarat, Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, Telangana, Coastal and South Interior Karnataka, Kerala and Mahe during the next five days.
"Isolated extremely heavy rainfall also likely over south Gujarat Region and ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra on 08th and over Konkan and Goa on July 7 and 8," it further said.
The weather forecasting agency also predicted scattered rainfall activity with isolated heavy rainfall likely over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal during the next five days.
"Widespread rainfall with isolated heavy rainfall and thunderstorm/lightning likely over Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh and Odisha during next five days," IMD said. (ANI)