Even as Mumbai stumbles back to normalcy on Monday, thousands of people continue to suffer elsewhere in the greater metropolitan region
Submerged vehicles in Shahad
For residents of Kalyan, Badlapur and Diva, the rains brought upon a second weekend of nightmares. While several ended up losing valuables they'd bought with an entire lifetime's worth of savings, more than 500 to 600 cars were destroyed due to the waterlogging. The downpour affected animals too, especially cows and buffaloes tied to electric poles on the road in Kalyan's Bail Bazaar area, which remains flooded. More than 400 buffaloes have been on the streets since Saturday evening. In Badlapur, several animals were moved to dry spots but around 10 bovines who did not leave the poles lost their lives. The APMC market in Kalyan suffered losses too, as most of the produce was destroyed. The flower market was flooded till Monday evening.
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Jai Prakash Chourasia, a vegetable vendor, said, "We have not been able to sell anything since the past five days. Almost Rs 25,000 worth of vegetables are lying unsold. That is a huge amount for people like us. A few of my friends lost vegetables and several equipments worth lakhs of rupees." After losing much of their belongings to the waterlogging last weekend, residents of Kamba village in Kalyan, who have not been home since July 27, found the remaining valuables destroyed on Sunday. More than 1,100 villagers were shifted to Sacred Heart School in Varap, Kalyan, due to the rising water levels in the village. These villagers could not even save important documents or valuables before leaving their homes.
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Around 600 cars were damaged due to the waterlogging
Jayanti Mali, who works as a clerk, is the breadwinner of her family of three. She'd bought a bike after saving up for three years, "Last week, the bike broke down due to waterlogging in our area. I tried to repair it and got it back home. However, it flooded again for two days and I lost my bike. This is the only thing I've bought in the last 10 years." Shankar Dube, who resides in Srinagar chawl of Kamba and sells utensils in exchange for clothes in Srinagar chawl, said, "All the clothes we'd collected were washed away. It was a source of income for us; I am concerned about how to feed my family. There is still a lot of water in our chawl. I went to check the situation on Monday morning, but the doors of my room did not open due to the pressure of the water inside. When I peeped from the window, most of my belongings, utensils and furniture were floating."
In Diva and Khadvli, residents lost their farms and every belonging in their home. More than 9,000 residents had been shifted to shelters in Thane while the NDRF, TDRF and Army conducted a rescue operation until Monday morning. Around 11,138 residents have been rescued from Thane district. Children wept because their books, games and favourite clothes were washed away. Shweta Parab, a std IX student from Diva, said, "It was my birthday last month so I had received several gifts, from exam equipment to clothes. I wouldn't have needed anything for years. Now, my exams are approaching and I don't know how I'll appear for them without my books. My father had bought everything for me but now, we've lost everything. My mother said that we need to build our home once again."
Also Read: Mumbai Rains: Railway Protection Force rescues 3,000 stranded inside trains
Diva residents being rescued. More than 9,000 residents had been shifted to shelters in Thane
Dombivli bldg sinks
Meanwhile, the Palava City in Dombivli, was completely underwater. On Sunday, residents were given food via cranes as there was no way to enter the flooded building premises. The residents had to live without drinking water and electricity. Ranish Ramkrishnan, who had moved into the Casabella building five months ago, said, "It was a nightmare for me. I have been staying in Ghatkopar since my childhood. This is the first time I have seen this kind of waterlogging. I lost my first car in this flood. On Monday, I asked four to five service centres, but they said it cannot be repaired. Lodha [that built Casabella] is not going to give my car back. When they advertise about good homes why can't they make arrangements for such calamities?" Raj Shetty, a garage owner in Palava, whose 10 employees have been repairing vehicles since Monday morning, said, "This is the 56th car I've checked to see whether or not it can be repaired. I have three garages around Dombivli and till 4 pm, we have got more than 300 cars and bikes for repair work."
Residents being rescued from a building in Diva
Kalwa youth drowns
The body of Kalwa youth Manish Jadhav, 19, who had drowned in a natural pond along Patni road in Airoli around 4.30 pm on Sunday, has not yet been recovered even after 24 hours of searching by the rescue agencies. The pond he drowned in is created due to waterlogging every year and claimed two lives last year and four children in 2017.
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