As toll in the Malad East wall collapse in Mumbai climbs to 18, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has come in defence of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and termed the incident an "accident".
Claiming that the wall collapse was due to "very heavy rainfall" and not BMC failure. "It was an accident. It happened because of heavy rainfall. There are several illegal constructions in Mumbai and BMC has nothing to do with it," Sanjay Raut said.
Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena on 18 dead after wall collapsed on hutments in Pimpripada, Malad East due to heavy rainfall today: It’s not BMC’s failure. It is an accident. It is because of heavy rainfall. There are several illegal constructions in Mumbai & BMC has nothing to do with it. pic.twitter.com/irvfVYR9kx
ANI (@ANI) July 2, 2019
Asked if the BMC failed to prepare for the monsoon, Sanjay Raut said, All drains are cleaned. But sometimes, the downpour is so strong that it is impossible to control.
The Shiv Sena leader added that people in Maharashtra were indeed happy with rains. "People are happy with rains but these kind of accidents are unfortunate," Sanjay Raut said.
As many as 18 people were killed and over 50 injured in a wall collapse in the northern suburb of Malad in Mumbai early Tuesday following heavy rains.
Around 2 am, a compound wall in Pimpripada collapsed, trapping people living in shanties adjacent to the wall.
"Our team of National Disaster Response Force along with sniffer dog reached the site of the incident immediately after receiving the information. Besides, a team of fire brigade and local police also reached the spot and took control of the situation," a senior NDRF official said.
The injured were taken to Jogeshwari Trauma Hospital and Kandivali-based Shatabdi Hospital, a civic official said.
The Meteorological Department has warned of "extremely heavy" rainfall in adjoining areas of Thane and Palghar on July 2, 4 and 5. A few places in Mumbai could get heavy to very heavy rainfall Monday and Tuesday, it added.
Private weather agency Skymet said Mumbai is at "serious risk of flooding" between July 3 and 5. "Close to 200 mm or more rain per day is likely during this period, which could hamper normal life," it said.
(with PTI inputs)