Maharashtra: Life thrown out of gear in Vasai-Virar

The otherwise busy life of the Vasai-Virar township in Palghar district was affected because of waterlogging and power failures as heavy rains lashed the Mumbai metropolitan region on Thursday.

The salt pans of Vasai, the market places were inundated and water even gushed into the ground floor flats in Vasai, Nalasopara, and Virar localities.

Teams National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been placed even as Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) was working around the clock to clean up the mess on the roads.

The NDRF rescued 23 persons and took them to safety at Rajavli in Vasai.

Waterlogging was reported from several parts of Nalasopara, Vasai, and Virar with the road traffic affected badly.

People could be seen wading through knee-deep waters at several places.

The salt plans along the Western Railway tracks in Vasai East and Naigaon West were flooded, eyewitnesses said.

Veteran environment activist Sameer Vartak said that because of unplanned development, the tracks and roads are a level lower than the buildings and these get submerged. "It is a serious issue, the places that are seeing new development are worst affected," he said, giving the example of the far western suburbs of Vasai-Virar in Palghar district. "Mangroves are cut... streams have become nullahs and nullahs have become gutters... where will the rainwater go,” asked Vartak, who is the head of Environment Cell of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.

Vasai-based activist and social worker Shreekant Naik visited several locations to help out the people. “If you see the roads, you can see the garbage that nature has thrown back,” said Naik.

The Sun City Road, one of the busy roads connecting Vasai to Nalasopara was submerged in water.

In 24 hours between Wednesday and Thursday, Vasai recorded an average over 200-mm rainfall: Vasai (204 mm), Mandvi (175 mm), Virar (191 mm), Pelhar (225 mm), Manikpur (226 mm), Nirmal (121 mm), Aagashi (194 mm), Bolinj (191 mm) and Kaman (205 mm).