Centre Assures Rain-Hit Maharashtra, Gujarat, J&K of Full Support as Death Toll Rises

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday spoke with the chief ministers of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Jammu and Kashmir to review the situation arising from heavy rains and assured them of all possible assistance from the Centre, officials said.

Shah called Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah separately to discuss the rain-related situation, according to officials.

Mumbai experienced torrential rain on Wednesday, causing delays in local train services and inconvenience to commuters. The city had seen heavy rainfall over the weekend, with a brief respite on Tuesday. Long-distance train services to Gujarat remained disrupted due to waterlogging on the Vasai-Virar section in Palghar district and at several locations in south Gujarat. Operations on the Mumbai-Pune route were also yet to be fully restored after landslides in the Bhor Ghat section on Monday.

The Tulsi Lake, one of the seven reservoirs supplying drinking water to Mumbai, began overflowing late Tuesday night due to heavy rainfall in its catchment area. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast intermittent light to moderate rainfall in Mumbai and the suburbs during the day.

Southern Gujarat received 'extremely heavy' rainfall on Tuesday, with Surat district the worst affected. Five people died in rain-related incidents in the district, and 2,100 people were moved from flooded areas to safer locations, officials said. Kamrej taluka in Surat district recorded 305 mm of rainfall in 10 hours ending 4 pm on Tuesday. Schools and colleges in Navsari district and Surat remained closed on Tuesday due to the downpour.

The IMD said in its midday state forecast that extremely heavy rainfall occurred at isolated places in the districts of Surat, Valsad, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli in the last 24 hours. Surat Municipal Corporation Commissioner M Nagarajan told reporters that around 2,100 people had been relocated to safe shelters. A district disaster management official reported five deaths from rain-related incidents over the past two days, including two deaths due to electrocution on Tuesday and two on Monday, and one death in Kamrej area.

In Jammu and Kashmir, flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall struck the upper reaches of Thathri town in Doda district on Tuesday, partially damaging several houses, shops, and vehicles. This was the third such incident in Doda and Kishtwar districts this week. Officials said heavy rain in the upper reaches brought boulders, mud, and debris into Thathri town. The Doda-Kishtwar highway was blocked at Thathri due to the flash floods, disrupting vehicular movement. The incident followed heavy flash floods that had damaged the Doda-Kishtwar highway near the under-construction 540 MW Kwar Hydroelectric Power Project a day earlier.