Mumbai rains: BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal asks staff to gear up for rain-related emergencies

Mumbai witnessed showers on Thursday morning. Pic/ Satej Shinde

Mumbai have been witnessing heavy showers for the past couple of days, as the city expects more rains in the coming days, municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal on Thursday asked officials to stay prepared to tackle emergency situations and undertake rescue operations. Chahal held a meeting of the disaster management department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), according to the PTI.

The city is being pounded by rains over the last one week. On June 29, 19 persons had died in a building collapse in suburban Kurla.

Officials should appeal to the residents of dilapidated structures in the city, categorized as 'C1 buildings', to vacate the premises, Chahal was quoted as saying in a BMC release.

Temporary shelters should be provided till September-end for people living in such buildings, he said, as per the PTI.

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Buses of the civic transport body BEST and the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) should be arranged if local train services get hit by the monsoon, the commissioner directed.

The department should be ready to run 400 BEST buses and 11 MSRTC buses to ferry stranded train commuters, Chahal said.

The commissioner also ordered that potholes on roads should be filled up within 48 hours of receiving complaints.

(with PTI inputs)