Monsoon session not in city this year

Nagpur: With the government deciding to hold monsoon session of state legislature from June 17 in Mumbai and not in Nagpur, the PWD, police and the district administration have heaved a combined sigh of relief.
Last year the monsoon session was shifted to the city and was a near disaster as heavy rain on the second day of the session led to flooding of Vidhan Sabha compound.
The authorities were so unprepared that the downpour led to disruption of power supply in Vidhan Sabha after the electricity installations in the basement were flooded. The proceedings were disturbed and could resume only after water was pumped out. It was result of a hurried decision to shift monsoon session to Nagpur instead of regular winter session that is held towards year end.
Devendra Fadnavis government last year gave disrepair of MLA hostels in Mumbai as the excuse for the shift. The tradition of holding winter session here was broken after five decades.
Apparently some alternative arrangements for stay of the legislators had been made in Mumbai as the hostels’ repair work was never started.
The monsoon session from June 17 to July 5 will be the last one for the current regime as the state elections are due in October.
The second capital is easily accessible for people of Vidarbha and Marathwada. But during monsoon time, farm related operations are at peak keeping a large chunk of population busy. Probably, that was the reason the session to be shifted here last year sparking protests from Opposition. The heavy rains also kept people at bay.
“Thank god it is not monsoon session here,” said a PWD official. It will be equal relief for district administration and the police who are having their hands full with Lok Sabha elections unil results are declared on May 23.
“That would have left these departments with no time to prepare,” he added.
A session in latter half of the year would provide ample time to get everything done.