Mumbaiites advised to stay away from beaches
> Mumbai and several other parts of Maharashtra have been hit by rain, with reports of hailstorm in some parts of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. > The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast rains with thundershowers in and around Mumbai with squalls reaching 50-60 kmph and touching 70 kmph in the coastal areas over the next 24 hours. > The state government, as a precautionary measure, declared a holiday for all schools in Mumbai on Tuesday and in the coastal districts of Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. > The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the state Disaster Management Unit and the railways said they were fully geared up for the cyclonic encounter expected over the next couple of days. > Advising people to stay away from all beaches, the BMC has warned people living in some parts of south Mumbai and suburbs of the possibility of tidal waves flowing into the roads and homes. > Cyclone Ochki, which battered coastal areas of Kerala, south Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep islands and claimed over 20 lives in the southern states, now lies centred in the Arabian Sea, 390km away from Surat, the diamond and textile city in Gujarat. > Gujarat is likely to experience heavy rains during the next four days, according to the IMD. “Heavy rainfall might occur in Valsad, Surat, Navsari, Bharuch, Dang, Tapi, Amreli, Gir-Sonath and Bhavnagar districts on December 5,” the department said. > Election rallies near the Saurashtra coast in Rajula, Mahuva and Sihor have also been cancelled.