Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to Pune in Maharashtra on Thursday to inaugurate a new corridor of the metro and launch several development projects valued at over Rs 22,600 crore has been cancelled due to heavy rain in the city.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday issued a rain alert for Mumbai and Pune.
Heavy rain on Wednesday evening flooded several roads in Pune city. Vehicles moved slowly, leading to traffic jams in many parts.
The Pune district administration has also issued orders to keep schools and colleges shut on Thursday not only in Pune but also in the neighbouring Pimpri Chinchwad area.
In Mumbai, the torrential downpour claimed at least four lives. More rain has been predicted on Thursday with the authorities declaring schools and colleges shut as a precautionary measure.
Wednesday's sudden downpour, which caught lakhs of Mumbaikars hurrying home totally by surprise, saw three casualties, including a 45-year-old woman, Vimal A. Gaikwad, who drowned in an open drain in Andheri east MIDC area.
Another woman drowned near the Zenith Waterfalls in the Khopoli area of Raigad and two persons were killed in a lightning strike at Varap village in Kalyan town of Thane.
Some parts of eastern Mumbai were pounded with heavy rain -- Mankhurd 275 mm, Powai 260 mm, Vikhroli 230 mm, and many other areas notching over 150 mm and more than 200 mm till this morning.
The Prime Minister was to inaugurate the Pune Metro section from District Court to Swargate. The cost of the underground section is estimated at around Rs 1,810 crore.
Further, the Prime Minister was also to lay the foundation stone for the Swargate-Katraj Extension of Pune Metro Phase-1 to be developed at the cost of around Rs 2,950 crore. This southern extension of around 5.46 km is completely underground with three stations namely Market Yard, Padmavati and Katraj.
Apart from this, PM Modi was to lay the foundation stone for the Memorial of the Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule's First Girls' School at Bhidewada. He was later scheduled to address a rally at the SP College ground in Pune.
(With inputs from IANS)
