Bombay high court accepted BMC’s affidavit filed on Monday that said the civic chief has directed all 26 wards to ensure 100% inspection of manhole covers across Mumbai in 10 days, and officers were acting on it.

Mumbai: Coming down on the BMC for an “eyewash” of earlier compliance affidavits, Bombay high court on Monday asked if the municipal body can make a statement that there would be no more unfortunate incidents due to open manholes this monsoon.The HC also expressed concern over the rise in serious incidents and also expressed displeasure at Thane Municipal Corporation’s (TMC) decision to award Rs 75,000 compensation to the parents of a toddler who fell in an open manhole last year.The HC accepted BMC’s affidavit filed on Monday that said the civic chief has directed all 26 wards to ensure 100% inspection of manhole covers across Mumbai in 10 days, and officers were acting on it.When the HC bench asked what about over 2,000 open, but “inaccessible”, manholes yet to be covered with safety grille, senior counsel Anil Sakhare, for BMC, said the civic staff will man areas that are prone to flooding where these manholes are located. “What is the point of these affidavits? It’s an eyewash. You say one thing, but you do another…You’re not doing anything,” a division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata said. “Human lives are of paramount importance, …Why can’t steps be taken before the monsoon season. Will the BMC keep waiting for someone to lose their life and then jump in to take measures?”The bench also expressed displeasure and disappointment with BMC’s preparedness to receive and swiftly address complaints from citizens about open manholes via phone. It said the BMC must activate a dedicated phone number within 24 hours.The HC was hearing a suo motu PIL on the bad condition of roads across state and a 2019 contempt petition by advocate Ruju Thakker on ensuring Mumbai’s roads are not death traps due to open manholes and potholes.Advocate Jamshed Mistry, as amicus curiae, submitted that since 2018, affidavits from civic bodies do not show the status of roads across the state, but only in Mumbai and Thane.The HC asked state to come back on the next hearing date with concrete plans to ensure roads issues are resolved soon. It also asked state to file an affidavit detailing steps to verify compliance by local bodies statewide, and sought details of FIR and complaints lodged against contractors and civic officials.T

Team TOIMumbai: Mumbai came to a standstill on Monday as heavy rain and gusty winds lashed it for the third day running and torrential showers disrupted life in other parts of the state, Palghar district being the worst-hit. While IMD downgraded the alert for Mumbai for Tuesday from red to orange, the BMC has again declared a holiday for schools and colleges as the met department said the city will see heavy to very heavy rain accompanied by strong winds.Thane, which also has an orange alert for Tuesday, and Palghar and Raigad, where the red alert stays, have likewise declared schools and colleges shut.The BMC got 523 complaints of tree and branch falls on Monday alone as wind gusts reached 77 kmph, and at least 11 people were injured in tree-fall incidents across the city since Sunday evening, seven of them hurt in Amboli (Andheri) when a tree crashed at 2.30 am Monday. In view of the warning of strong winds, BMC has decided to close all parks and gardens on Tuesday “for safety of citizens.”Late Monday, a 13-year-old boy Mohammed Abuzar was washed away in a swollen drain in Bhiwandi. Ten people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents in the city over six days.While the state disaster management authority had declared private offices in Mumbai shut on Monday morning, transport services were disrupted across MMR. Over 200 train services were hit across Central and Western Railway, including 43 cancellations — 27 on CR and 16 on WR including Tuesday departures.Landslides in the Lonavala-Karjat ghat section affected services. Tree branches on harbour line and a polythene bag entangled in the overhead equipment near Vikhroli caused additional delays. On WR, over 300 mm of rain in Palghar led to severe waterlogging near Nalasopara, suspending suburban services between Vasai and Virar and disrupting long-distance trains. But the local suburban network continued to operate, albeit with delays.The Palghar-Vasai-Virar belt was inundated with waist-high water in many areas, and Nalasopara and Vasai railway stations on the WR suburban network saw water on tracks reaching platform levels. A total of 347 residents were rescued from various areas of the district late Monday evening, with CM Devendra Fadnavis saying Palghar district was hit the most by rain. The CM said all alerts for the state are up to July 8.Fadnavis said trains between Gujarat and Mumbai were stranded, and people were being brought by road. “The Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway work is still underway so in some parts there is waterlogging and the road is closed,” he said.The newly-inaugurated ‘Missing Link’ stretch of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway had to be shut after a landslide damaged the tunnel 2 exit in Khopoli. Consequently, traffic between the two big cities was suspended on both carriageways. Late Monday the CMO post on X, “Traffic is resumed at the “Connecting Link”; vehicular movement is restored.” A landslide struck the Mumbai-Goa highway too on Monday.In Mumbai, BEST diverted buses on 60 routes including Bhandup, Andheri and Mulund and withdrew buses trapped in flooded streets. Power cuts affected Kandivli and Vasai, and in Girgaum, a meter room fire in a chawl caused local outage. Heavy rain led to diversion and go-arounds at Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports.Breakdown of vehicles and waterlogging slowed traffic at Marine Drive, Sakinaka and Dharavi as well as the Coastal Road tunnel. Poisar, Malad and Andheri subways were shut for a while. Only essential services plied, and the legislative council’s proceedings were also suspended.The sessions court was forced to adjourn key matters like the Sheena Bora murder case and NSEL scam case.With IMD issuing a red alert from July 4-6, BMC had activated its emergency response mechanism. Additional manpower, high-capacity dewatering pumps, rescue equipment and special response teams were deployed across vulnerable locations. The CM said teams of NDRF have been stationed in highly vulnerable areas across the state, and SDRF teams are in place in less vulnerable areas.Tree falls in the city affected even roads in Powai, Sion, at the Willingdon Club (Mahalaxmi), Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli. BMC issued guidelines for construction sites in the wake of mishaps recorded in Mulund and Bhandup.Mumbai University has postponed all examinations scheduled for Tuesday. The revised exam schedule will be announced shortly on its website, the varsity said in a circular.Thane received 240 mm rain in 24 hours. One man was injured after a tree fell on him at Louiswadi, while a fireman suffered a leg injury during a tree removal operation in Vrindavan. Meanwhile, the Ulhas river rose above danger level at Badlapur and Ambernath, while the Kalu river crossed warning level at Titwala. Around 250 residents were evacuated along the Ulhas riverbank in Badlapur, including 45 from an old-age home.

Heavy rains triggered a landslide near Tunnel 2 on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway Missing Link

MUMBAI/PUNE: The newly opened Mumbai–Pune Expressway ‘Missing Link’ project ran into serious trouble on Monday as heavy rains triggered a landslide near Tunnel 2, forcing a complete shutdown of the stretch and disrupting traffic between the two cities for over 18 hours.The landslide led to traffic diversions and raised sharp questions about the safety of the multi-crore infrastructure.Authorities shut sections of the expressway after debris and soil slipped onto the carriageway amid extremely heavy rainfall, severely impacting road connectivity between Mumbai and Pune.Traffic was diverted from the Missing Link alignment in the early hours as a precautionary measure, leaving motorists stranded for hours near Lonavala and Khandala.

Landslide, closures and traffic chaos

Officials said the landslide occurred near the exit of Tunnel 2 on the Pune-to-Mumbai lane, prompting the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to divert traffic from 4am.The Mumbai-bound lane was completely closed, while traffic on both the expressway and the old Mumbai–Pune highway was affected due to waterlogging and slope instability .Motorists reported bumper-to-bumper traffic in the Lonavala stretch after being rerouted, as rain continued to lash the region.District authorities issued public advisories urging people to avoid travelling between Mumbai and Pune until conditions improved.

‘Missing Link’ under political fire

The disruption quickly snowballed into a political flashpoint, with Opposition leaders alleging that the Missing Link project had “failed its first monsoon test”.Congress leaders demanded an independent audit of the project’s construction quality and expenditure, citing visible damage and safety concerns inside tunnels and on approach roads .NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) MP Supriya Sule expressed disappointment over the landslide incident. She said, “There must be an inquiry into who designed the bridge and who the contractor for the project is. The situation has become such that travelling from Pune to Mumbai is impossible; even some MLAs were unable to reach the Vidhan Bhavan.”Senior Congress spokesperson Anant Gadgil alleged that the project was opened in haste without adequate monsoon testing, claiming that tunnel linings and alignment choices could pose long-term risks during heavy rainfall .Opposition legislators also targeted the BJP-led government in the Maharashtra legislature, accusing it of pushing “headline-driven infrastructure” without ensuring durability and public safety. Protests were staged in Mumbai, with slogans mocking the government’s claims of world-class road projects .

Government response

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told the state assembly that the extreme rainfall amounted to a “force majeure” situation and said disaster management agencies were on alert.He maintained that the incidents reflected the impact of extreme weather rather than a lack of preparedness, adding that a detailed statement would be made in the House .MSRDC officials said the diversion was a safety measure and that the situation was being monitored in coordination with highway traffic police. Restoration work, however, remained challenging due to continued heavy rainfall in the ghat sections .

Questions over a flagship project

The 13-km Missing Link, designed to bypass the accident-prone ghat section and cut travel time between Mumbai and Pune by up to 30 minutes, was opened barely two months ago.Monday’s landslide and prolonged disruption have now reignited concerns over whether the project was adequately prepared to withstand harsh monsoon conditions in the Sahyadri terrain .With visuals of debris, water seepage and stranded vehicles circulating widely on social media, pressure is mounting on the government to explain how a flagship expressway project faltered during its first spell of heavy rain.

Mumbai-bound carriageway reopened after safety checks

The Mumbai-bound carriageway of the Mumbai–Pune Expressway Missing Link section was reopened for traffic later on Monday after being shut due to the rain-triggered landslide, MSRDC said.MSRDC officials said debris was cleared and safety inspections were carried out before allowing vehicles to pass through the stretch. Motorists have been advised to exercise caution as heavy rainfall continues in the ghat section.