Maharashtra downpour claims six lives

Mumbai received a whopping 15 cm average rainfall in 12 hours since 8 am on Monday, even as one person was killed and normal life disrupted, officials said. Five people were killed in rain-related incidents in other parts of Maharashtra.

Five persons were killed and another four injured when the wall of a temple crashed at Kaundinyapur village in Amravati district.

The incident occurred Sunday evening and the bodies of the victims were removed from the debris early Monday.

The incessant rains resulted in overflowing of Thane district’s Lake Tansa, a major source of drinking water for the 17 million people of the city, civic official said.

Some parts of the city received between four to eight centimetres of rains since Monday morning, raising hopes that the water deficit would be wiped out this year.

Several low-lying areas in the city and suburbs were waterlogged, slowing down vehicular movement and causing massive traffic snarls on both the national highways and other major roads.