Rain torments Mumbai, entire slum swamped

By Mahesh Vijapurkar

MUMBAI, JULY 13. Army personnel were called in to help the administration clear debris to locate the dead and survivors in a landslide that claimed over 60 lives in a Mumbai suburb. The Navy has been asked to help evacuate several thousand families along two rivers in the metropolis - the Vakola and the Mithi - at least a full day after heavy rains paralysed life on Wednesday. The rain-related toll across Maharashtra could be close to 100. (PTI put it at 91.)

The Army was asked to move to the suburb 24 hours after the landslide swamped a slum at the foot of a hillock. The area was inaccessible all night. There is little hope of anybody surviving but the residents of the slum have not given up. The landslide is perhaps one of the worst urban calamities in recent times.

Fortunately, despite a forecast of heavy rains today, there was a break of several hours making things somewhat easy.

Officially, the Disaster Management Plan, drafted over years of painful work, ``was operational''. But there would not be a single citizen who would vouch for it after Wednesday's harrowing experience. If there was such a plan, it was not visible. The Chief Minister, Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh, however put it across rather interestingly: ``Such plans do not avert disasters; relief comes in later.''

Fire-brigade personnel and police had a tough time coping with the landslide that crushed almost an entire slum and the introduction of Army personnel, though not too large in numbers, could help speed up the work.

The temporary ceasing of rains did not in any way bring life in the city back to normal, but Mr. Deshmukh sought to score a point about the lack of credibility in weather forecasts. He told a press conference, ``The Government went by the forecast of heavy rains continuing and asked schools and colleges to remain closed, but see what happened.''

Even as claims of ``official-level coordination between various agencies'' were made, as the disaster unfolded people as well the official machinery were caught off-guard. It took the whole of the night for the administration to get alert. Mr. Deshmukh called a meeting of officials of Army, Navy, MTNL, the Railways, the civic body, electricity utilities and asked them to be on their toes.

Because of overflows from two lakes - the Vihar and the Powai - that supply drinking water to the metropolis, people who could be affected have been alerted and asked to be prepared for evacuation.

More rains have been forecast till 8.30 a.m. on Friday. And if they do materialise, Mumbai would once again be thrown out of gear even before it manages to recover.

Trains resumed on two of the three suburban commuter lines but with few people onboard. Attendance in offices and business places was low with many people opting to remain indoors. Many long-distance trains would be terminated at Karjat and Kalyan if required and people be moved to the metropolis by buses.

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