The first showers of rain on Monday night, which Thane received, gave some respite from the heat. But, it also exposed the hollow rain-preparedness claims of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).
According to Hindustan Times, hundreds of homes in Thane were waterlogged after only an hour of rain. TMC had set June 2 as the deadline to complete nullah cleaning work. While the nullahs were cleaned, the workers left the silt along the nullahs. So when it rained, the rainwater mixed with silt and flowed into the houses at Vartak Nagar, Wagale Estate, Lokmanya Nagar and Naupada. The residents stayed up entire night to remove mud and muck from their homes after the rains.
Milind Gaikwad, a resident of Samata Nagar, told the leading daily, “Nullahs were not cleaned properly and this caused waterlogging. Though the TMC cleaned the nullahs, the silt has been lying beside the nullahs for the past seven days. The silt flowed back into the nullah when it started raining and choked it.”
Charusheela Pandit, assistant municipal commissioner of TMC, told the Hindustan Times, “I have directed employees to clean areas covered with muck and silt. We have undertaken the work of cleaning three culverts at Vartak Nagar and this must have restricted the flow of nullah water. A ramp was built on the nullah for an excavator to enter it for cleaning. Mud must have entered people’s home and not silt.”
Thane received 75 mm of rainfall on Monday night. The city saw waterlogging at 13 spots. Twenty-six trees fell during the thunderstorm and heavy showers.
