Fadnavis orders inquiry into Maharashtra legislature flooding

The Maharashtra government has ordered an inquiry into the flooding of the state Legislature complex and its adjournment after heavy rain last week.

The inquiry would ascertain loopholes in arrangements for the monsoon session and if problems were deliberately left unattended, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said in the legislative assembly on Monday.

The people affected due to heavy rain in the city would also be compensated, he said.

The city is hosting the monsoon session of the state legislature but on Friday both the assembly and the council were adjourned for the day, shortly after convening, due to a power blackout caused by rain.

“Normally heavy rain in Nagpur is around 150 mm. But on Friday, the city received 282 mm rainfall and between 8.30am and 2.30pm, 264 mm rainfall was recorded. The water-logging occurred due to the ongoing construction works. Disaster management was activated. The police helped people affected by heavy rains,” Fadnavis said.

Earlier, as soon as the House assembled and Speaker Haribhau Bagade called for the Question Hour, Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said taxpayers’ money was wasted since the day’s proceedings got washed out on Friday.

Thechiefministershouldapologise to the people of Nagpur, Vikhe Patil said.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar sought to know at whose insistence the session was being held in Nagpur during rain.

Meanwhile, Patil also said heavy rain lashed Mumbai since Monday morning and the city came to a “standstill”. “There is no disaster management in place.”

40-year-old pillion rider was crushed to death by a speeding private bus after she fell off a two-wheeler that hit a pothole during heavy rains in Kalyan of Maharashtra’s Thane district on Saturday.

The incident at Shivaji Chowk on Saturday evening was caught on closed-circuit television (CCTV). Police said the bus driver, who fled from the spot, has been identified.

Manisha Bhoir, a civic school peon, was heading home on a two-wheeler being driven by her relative, who had picked her up because of the rains, when they met with the accident.

P Londhe, a senior police inspector at Mahatma Phule police station, said while trying to avoid a deep pothole on a waterlogged road the driver lost balance and the two-wheeler can be seen slipping in the CCTV footage as it goes over a pothole and both the rider and pillion fall to their right.

Londhe said Bhoir’s head came under the rear tyre of the speeding bus and she started bleeding profusely.

“Bhoir was taken to a hospital but she was declared brought dead. A case was registered against the bus driver under relevant sections of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) and motor vehicle act. We have got the number of the bus and we will arrest him soon,” added Londhe.

Locals later filled the potholes with debris on Sunday.

NAGPUR: THANE:A