Thane/Palghar, 20 August

A man died after falling into a water-filled quarry while an inundated bridge in Kalyan area was closed after heavy rains lashed Maharashtra's Thane district, officials said on Wednesday.

The neighbouring Palghar district also witnessed heavy overnight showers, flooding low-lying areas and disrupting movement at several locations, they said.

On Tuesday, authorities rescued 194 persons trapped in inundated areas of Vasai taluka in Palghar using boats and ropes on Tuesday, they said.

At Nanivali in Ambede area of Palghar, nearly 5,000 chickens perished after flooding at a farmer's poultry farm, district disaster management CEO and resident deputy collector Subhash Badge said.

A man, identified as Aditya Singh, died after falling into a water-filled quarry around midnight at Rabale in Navi Mumbai township of Thane district, an official from the disaster control room said.

Flood waters rose over the Runde bridge in Kalyan, forcing its closure, tehsildar Sachin Shejal said.

"The movement on the bridge has been stopped and vehicles are being diverted via Khadavli-Utarne route," he said.

A tree collapsed at a housing society in Wagle Estate area at 3.40 am on Wednesday, leaving the adjoining security wall dangerously unstable, Thane Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi said.

"The falling tree had made the security wall of the society dangerous. The tree was cut down and removed, and the security wall was demolished to eliminate the threat. No one was injured at the scene," he stated.

In neighbouring Palghar, low-lying areas were inundated, and rescue teams, including the NDRF, relocated several residents to safer places and temporary camps, disaster management cell chief Vivekanand Kadam said.

The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) recorded 186.91 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours.

"The cumulative rainfall for the season has reached 2,327.14 mm, compared to 2,517.89 mm during the same period last year," Tadvi said.

Authorities in both the districts were on high alert as heavy rainfall was expected to continue.