Maharashtra rains: Opposition demands assembly debate over deaths and flood damage

Opposition members on Tuesday demanded a discussion in the Maharashtra Assembly over the heavy rainfall situation across the state citing deaths property damage and disruption caused by floods and rainrelated incidentsThe members urged the House to suspend regular proceedings and take up the issue immediately highlighting the impact of continuous rainfall in Mumbai Thane the Konkan region and several other parts of MaharashtraSpeaker Rahul Narwekar said the adjournment notices submitted by Opposition members did not meet the prescribed procedural requirements and were therefore not admitted However he suggested that members raise the matter through a shortduration or halfanhour discussionOpposition highlights deaths and damageCongress leader Nana Patole requested the Chair to suspend the days scheduled business to discuss the impact of heavy rainfallHe said members from both the treasury and Opposition benches wanted to discuss the loss of lives damage caused by rain and the steps required to deal with the situationSupporting the demand NCP SP leader Jayant Patil said 12 people had died in rainrelated incidents over the past two to three days He alleged administrative lapses and said the Opposition was not trying to politicise the tragedy but wanted the government to respond to the situationShiv Sena UBT leader Bhaskar Jadhav claimed that 20 to 25 people had died and said rainrelated losses were not limited to cities but had also affected rural areasSpeaker asks members to follow procedureResponding to the demands Narwekar said several adjournment notices submitted by Opposition members in the morning did not fulfil procedural requirements and were rejectedHe advised members to raise the issue through a shortduration discussion or a halfanhour discussion and assured them that permission would be grantedThe Speaker also said he would allow the government to make a statement on the prevailing rain situation if it wished to do so before asking members to continue with the scheduled business of the HouseRain damage reported in urban and rural areasOpposition members said heavy rainfall had severely affected normal life across Maharashtra with damage reported in both urban and rural areasThey pointed out that victims included people who died in building collapses tree fall incidents and other rainrelated accidentsThe members also said several rural areas had suffered extensive losses due to flooding and continuous rainfallConcerns raised over infrastructure damageThe Opposition also highlighted issues related to the MumbaiPune Expressway Missing Link project claiming that heavy rainfall damaged some stretches and disrupted connectivityMembers said large parts of the Konkan region and several urban areas were facing severe waterlogging due to intense rainfallThey urged the government to take note of the concerns raised in the House and implement immediate relief and preventive measures in affected areasThe discussion later shifted to the measures taken by the state government to manage the heavy rainfall situation and provide assistance to affected residentsWith inputs from PTI