Mumbai Rains: City not ready for even passing clouds

Madhukar Narvekar who died after panels at Churchgate stn fell on him on Wednesday

It was barely Day 3 of the rain in Mumbai on Wednesday when the city failed its people. The gusty wind owing to a cyclone that was passing by the city on its way to Gujarat, killed one person and injured three in another incident.

An aluminium cladding panel fell off the facade of Churchgate station, killing Madhukar Appa Narvekar, 62. Another such incident at Bandra West saw an acrylic sheet of a skywalk collapsing opposite Saraswat Bank, injuring three passers-by - Malisa Najarat, 30, Sulakshana Vaze, 41, Tejal Kadam, 27.

Also Read: Mumbai: Heavy rains, strong winds lash city as citizens gear up for monsoon

The acrylic sheet of the Bandra skywalk fell apart on Wednesday, injuring three women. Pics/Atul Kamble and Pradeep Dhivar

The Western Railway clarified that the cladding fell due to heavy cyclonic winds and rains. The panels on the east facade of Churchgate station fell from the second and third floor. Narvekar was immediately rushed to GT hospital, where he succumbed to injuries. A junior administrative grade inquiry has been constituted to investigate this incident. An ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh has been handed over to his family.

Western Railway chief public relations officer Ravinder Bhakar said that the intensity of winds was so much that it forced the panels down. "We will review the entire structure and if necessary dismantle the weaker parts of the building," he said.

Also Read: Mumbai: Sheet of Bandra's skywalk falls on commuters; three injured

The cladding panels were installed when Churchgate railway station was renovated

'Precautions in place'

While the disaster management cell did not receive any complaints of waterlogging or flooding on Wednesday, the management unit had mobilised staff acting on the IMD warning. Additional fire tenders and lifeguards were stationed at beaches to prevent people from entering the sea.

There were 75 incidents of trees/branches falling reported to the disaster unit of the BMC. While 24 complaints came from the island city, 15 came from the Eastern suburbs and 36 from western. A civic official said, "We had all precautionary measures in place." On June 10, two people died of electrocution in Kandivli east.

Rain to continue

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, while the storm has passed from Maharashtra Coast and is likely to move northwards. Mumbai will see moderate rain along with thunderstorm today in some places, Krishnanand Hosalikar, IMD Mumbai director said. "All warnings continue for another day," he added.

75
No. of tree/branch fall incidents

Also Read: Man killed as portion of cladding collapses at Churchgate due to heavy wind

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