Oppn seeks debate in Maharashtra assembly on rain situation; Speaker favours short discussion

Mumbai, Jul 7 (PTI) Opposition members demanded a discussion in the Maharashtra assembly on Tuesday on the heavy rain situation in the state, citing loss of lives and widespread damage. Speaker Rahul Narwekar said the adjournment notices moved by the Opposition did not meet the prescribed rules and were therefore not admitted. He, however, asked the Opposition to raise the issue through a short-duration or a half-an-hour discussion, and said he would also permit the government to make a statement on the matter. Nana Patole (Congress) urged the Chair to suspend the day's business to discuss the impact of heavy rains, particularly in Mumbai, Thane and other parts of the state. He said members from both the treasury and Opposition benches wanted to deliberate on the loss of lives, damage caused by the rains and measures to deal with the situation. Supporting the demand, Jayant Patil of NCP (SP) said 12 persons died in rain-related incidents over the last two to three days. He alleged administrative lapses and said the Opposition was not trying to politicise the tragedy but wanted the government to respond to the situation. Shiv Sena (UBT) member Bhaskar Jadhav claimed 20 to 25 persons died and that not just in cities, there have been rain-related losses in rural areas as well. Responding to the demands, Narwekar said several adjournment notices submitted by Opposition members in the morning did not satisfy the procedural requirements and were therefore disallowed. He advised the members to bring up the issue through a short-duration discussion or a half-an-hour discussion, assuring them he would grant permission for it. The Speaker said he would allow the government to make a statement on the prevailing rain situation if it chose to do so, before asking members to continue with the scheduled business of the House. The Opposition demanded an immediate discussion in the assembly on the widespread damage caused by heavy rains across the state, saying normal life had been severely disrupted in urban and rural areas. They said the victims included people who were buried after buildings collapsed, swept away into manholes and killed after trees fell on them. Rural areas had also suffered extensive damage due to the heavy rainfall, they pointed out. The Opposition also highlighted the condition of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway 'Missing Link' project, claiming that roads had been washed away or split into two at several places, disrupting connectivity. Large parts of the Konkan region and several urban areas were facing severe waterlogging, the Opposition members said. They appealed to the Chair to allow an immediate discussion. The members also urged the government to take serious note of the information placed before the House and immediately implement relief and preventive measures. The discussion then shifted to the steps taken by the state government to tackle the heavy rainfall situation and provide relief to the affected areas. PTI MR GK