Weak cyclone,deep impact

Even as officials explained that evacuations had been stopped and there was no cause for fear,government employees and school and college students returned home to an evening of gusty winds and rain,a pleasant respite from weeks of unusually sultry weather for November.

S C Mohanty,officer on special duty with the government’s disaster management unit,said that the “deep depression” over the Arabian Sea was upgraded to a cyclone around 4.30 am on Wednesday. However,the cyclone was never completely formed,its peak speeds not exceeding 18 to 20 kilometres an hour.

By then,the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had already advised people living along the coastline that it was wise to move. The administration identified six vulnerable locations,all low-lying areas,which could be inundated and kept six rescue teams on alert.

Following the Met Department alert,the BMC evacuated about 10,000 slums close to the sea: Geeta Nagar in Colaba,Worli Koliwada,Nariman Baug,Carter Road in Bandra,Khar Danda and Sagar Kutir in Andheri. By late afternoon,as the cyclone moved away,Additional Municipal Commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar said it was not mandatory for these people to shift. “We are providing people with alternative accommodation,but are not forcing people. We have told them it’s desirable to leave their places if they still fear strong winds,” she said. If the impact of the cyclone persists,the BMC said,an alert on schools and offices’ functioning would be given later.

In Thane,the collector began evacuation in seven villages in Palghar and five in Dahanu. “The evacuation process has now been stopped. It is no longer necessary to evacuate people,” said M Rameshkumar,additional chief secretary,relief and rehabilitation.

However,officials said that they had to remain alert for continuing heavy rain. The IMD has forecast heavy rainfall in Mumbai over the next two days. The Konkan region would also continue to be hit by heavy to very heavy rainfall and the Met office is yet to withdraw the warning for the cyclone.

WIND & WATER
Lake cheer
The sudden rainfall brought minor relief to officials dealing with the current,worsening water crisis in Mumbai. The water in the catchment areas rose 2,500 million litres in 24 hours,Upper Vaitarna getting 35.40 mm rain,Tansa 33 mm,Tulsi 25 mm,Modak Sagar 27.80 mm,Vihar 17.40 mm and Bhatsa 5.40 mm. “We hope if the rain continues,there will be a significant rise in water levels,” said Deputy Municipal Commissioner Pramod Charankar. Currently,the lakes supplying water to Mumbai have a collective 8.83 lakh million litres,compared to 11.54 lakh million litres in October-November 2008. The shortage has led to a15 per cent water cut till July next.

Sea link stays open
The Bandra-Worli Sea Link will remain open. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and toll collection agency had planned to temporarily close it if wind speeds exceeded 70 kph as predicted. The 4.7-km sea link,with 424 steel cables holding the central tower,is designed to withstand winds up to 150 kph. “We have all the mechanism in place to monitor wind speeds and had planned to shut traffic for some time if necessary,” said S M Sabnis,chief engineer,MSRDC. In the end,it was not necessary and though traffic was thin,it was smooth sailing on the sea link.

Impact mitigation
The state government is set to receive Rs 150 crore from the World Bank sponsored national project for cyclone mitigation,for the four districts in Konkan. As part of the project the state government will create shelter belt plantation of mangroves on government and private land,create cyclone shelters in each of these districts,create saline embankments to protect agricultural land and make anti-erosion bunds. The project is to be completed in three years.

Bombay High rescue
The Coast Guard (Western Region) rescued 16 crew members of a patrol boat off Bombay High. “We received a distress call from this vessel after which Coast Guard vessel Subhadra Kumari Chauhan rushed to rescue them. The 16 crew members were part of a patrol boat that got stuck in the sea,” said a senior official. Coast Guard officials said that 42 boats were reported missing from the coastal belt of Thane to Goa. “We will send helicopters to start rescue work as soon as the weather gets calmer.”