Shah speaks to Maharashtra, Gujarat CMs on rain situation, assures central assistance

New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday spoke to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel to review the situation arising from heavy rains in the two states, officials said. During separate phone conversations with the chief ministers, Shah assured them of all possible assistance from the Centre in dealing with the rain-related situation, they said. Mumbai witnessed torrential rain on Wednesday, delaying local train services and causing inconvenience to office-goers. The city was battered by rain over the weekend and got a brief respite on Tuesday. Long-distance train services towards Gujarat remained disrupted due to waterlogging on the Vasai-Virar section in neighbouring Palghar district and at several locations in south Gujarat. Operations on the Mumbai-Pune route were also yet to be fully restored following landslides in the Bhor Ghat section on Monday. According to civic officials, the Tulsi Lake, one of the seven reservoirs supplying drinking water to Mumbai, started overflowing late at night due to heavy rainfall in its catchment area. The India Meteorological Department has forecast intermittent light to moderate rainfall in Mumbai and the suburbs during the day. Southern Gujarat also received "extremely heavy" rainfall on Tuesday, with the worst affected being Surat district, where five persons died in rain-related incidents, while 2,100 people were shifted from flooded areas to safe locations, officials said. Kamrej taluka in Surat district recorded a whopping 305 mm rainfall in 10 hours ending 4 pm on Tuesday, they said. Schools and colleges in the Navsari district and Surat remained shut on Tuesday in view of the downpour. "Extremely heavy rainfall occurred at isolated places in the districts of South Gujarat region, namely Surat, Valsad, Dadra & Nagar Haveli in the last 24 hours," the IMD said in its midday state forecast on Tuesday. Talking to reporters, M Nagarajan, Commissioner of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), had said around 2,100 people have been relocated from across different zones to safe shelters. An official from the district disaster management office had said that a total of five deaths were reported in rain-related incidents over the past two days. "Two deaths due to electrocution were reported today, while another person died in the Kamrej area. On Monday, two individuals died from electrocution in the Rander area of Surat," the official had said. PTI ABS RHL