Casualty mounts to 385 in monsoon; CM assesses situation

Mumbai, July 5 (UNI) The casualty figure in the rain-related incidents during the monsoon that had lashed Maharashtra from June 1 till date has reached 385, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said here today.

Talking to reporters after his arrival from US, Mr Deshmukh said of the 385, 252 were electrocuted, while 59 were swept away in floods.

He said he immediately called a meeting of the concerned ministers, officials and representatives of railway, army, navy and air force to take stock of the flood situation in the state.

He said 33 districts have received more than 100 per cent rainfall till date, while the remaining received 75 per cent. In all, 3,608 villages in 26 districts were affected due to rains.

Over one lakh people were affected due to heavy rainfall and floods and 36,000 were evacuated. Besides 1,000 cattle also died.

The Chief Minister said 6,000 houses were damaged completely, while 33,600 houses damaged partially.

He said so far compensation has been paid to the relatives of 197 victims.

He said seeds would be given to the farmers, who would need to go for the second round of sowing due to floods. In Amravati, 40,000 hectares were damaged.

In all, 250 camps were also set up in the state during flood period, out of which 245 were in Amravati alone.

Speaking about Mumbai, Mr Deshmukh said he had asked the railways to use water pumps to clear the accumulated water.

The problem will continue for Mumbai if there would be 250 to 300 mm of rainfall, as the city's drains can take the inflow of upto 50 mm. He admitted the work of cleaning of Mithi river, which was in the second phase, was facing problems as the issue of rehabilitation is still persisting.

He said the survey of roads and bridges, which were damaged during monsoon, will be done immediately and the repair work will be done on temporary basis. After monsoon, the complete work will be done.

The state government has given compensation to all the victims of the 7/11 serial train bomb blasts, Mr Deshmukh said and added that if anybody had not been paid as yet, the same would be given.

There were cases in which railways have so far not given jobs to the relatives of the victims, he added.

UNI