The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly was adjourned for the day on Monday after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis briefed the House on the severe monsoon situation affecting Mumbai and several adjoining districts, saying the state government has placed its disaster response machinery on the highest level of alert.
Addressing the Assembly before the adjournment, Fadnavis said the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), along with Thane, Raigad, Palghar and parts of Pune and Nashik, has been witnessing extremely heavy rainfall, prompting an extensive emergency response.
“The state government has put all emergency apparatus on the highest level of alert,” the Chief Minister said.
He said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red alerts for several districts and forecast wind speeds of 70-90 kmph, which have already caused widespread damage, including uprooted trees and structural incidents.
Fadnavis said the state has activated its automated emergency communication system to send SMS alerts to residents in the worst-affected areas every three hours.
“We are dealing with an intense and evolving natural emergency. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local civic bodies are deployed at full capacity. Our absolute priority right now is preventing loss of life and carrying out rescue operations,” he said.
Highlighting the severity of the situation, the Chief Minister said Mumbai typically records around 800 tree-fall incidents during an entire monsoon season, but 350 trees collapsed on Sunday alone.
“Today is turning out to be significantly more critical, which is why we have officially requested employers to grant Work From Home,” he said.
Fadnavis cautioned that strong winds were expected to intensify later in the day and urged residents to remain indoors unless absolutely necessary.
“Wind speeds of 70 to 90 kmph are expected after this afternoon. These powerful winds pose a serious threat to standing trees. Citizens should remain extremely alert,” he said.
He also appealed to young people to avoid beaches, promenades, waterfalls and other tourist spots during the adverse weather.
“Looking at the severity of the winds forecast for today, I urge the younger generation to completely avoid sightseeing and monsoon tourism,” the Chief Minister said.
He added that emergency response teams have been deployed across vulnerable areas to clear fallen trees, restore essential services and respond to structural hazards.
Before the House was adjourned, opposition members staged a protest on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan, accusing the government of inadequate monsoon preparedness. Holding placards and raising slogans, they criticised the administration over waterlogging, infrastructure failures and rain-related fatalities.
Responding to the criticism, the Chief Minister and other ministers appealed to the opposition to cooperate during the humanitarian crisis rather than politicising the disaster.
Following the Chief Minister’s statement, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar adjourned the House for the day, saying the prevailing situation required the government’s full attention.
The heavy rainfall has caused widespread disruption across Maharashtra. Road connectivity was severely affected after landslides disrupted traffic on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the old Mumbai-Pune Highway near the Khopoli-Kusgaon ‘Missing Link’ project.
Suburban rail services and several long-distance trains between Mumbai and Pune were also affected due to waterlogging and landslides in ghat sections.
Educational institutions remained closed across Mumbai, Thane and Palghar, while the University of Mumbai postponed examinations scheduled for July 6 in view of the adverse weather conditions.
(With inputs from IANS)
