MUMBAI: At least 49 people were rescued on Sunday from a waterlogged Thane resort in Maharashtra being lashed by heavy rains.
According to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), their team with boats and life jackets rescued the people who were stranded at the resort due to flooding in the Shahpur area of Thane district on Sunday. In another rescue operation, 16 villagers were rescued by the NDRF and firefighters in Palghar district of Maharashtra.
A group of villagers from Chalispada of Saiwan in Vasai, who were working on their farms, got stranded when the area was flooded after water levels rose in the nearby Tansa Lake. The catchment area that supplies drinking water to Mumbai received very heavy rains on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
In another location in Thane district, the NDRF and local firefighters were mobilised in the afternoon, and 16 people were brought to safety. As part of the monsoon preparedness, NDRF teams are deployed in parts of Mumbai, Thane and Palghar districts, an NDRF official said.
There are 13 teams with around 32 personnel each in different parts of the state, including Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur. After the heavy downpour, local and long-distance train services passing through Thane district have been suspended. The officials said local train services between Kasara and Titwala stations in Maharashtra’s Thane district adjoining Mumbai were suspended on Sunday morning following heavy rains in Mumbai.
According to the officials, soil came on tracks between Atgaon and Thansit stations due to heavy rains and a fallen tree blocked tracks near Vasind station, disrupting rail traffic on the busy Kalyan-Kasara route.