Unhappy that the Indian Meteorological Department's forecast for heavy rains on August 30 did not hold true, and the advisory to stay home went in vain, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has written to the Union Minister for Earth Sciences Dr Harsh Vardhan.
Heavy rains lashed Mumbai on August 29 and Mumbai came to a standstill. All the three rail-lines stopped functioning and millions of people were stranded in various parts of the city. The CM went to the state disaster management control room and was told about the forecast for heavy rains the next day. This prompted Fadnavis to issue an advisory over Twitter, asking people to stay at home so that they would not be stranded. The state government employees, who were not working on the emergency situation, were also asked to stay home; schools and colleges were also ordered to remain shut.
However, the weather remained sunny and bright, and the city remained home for nothing.
"I have written to the Honorable Union Minister about this. Technology is now so advanced that one can a precise and accurate forecast for a limited geographical area. I wrote to the honorable minister about the need to procure the same and the fact that IMD got it totally wrong," said Fadnavis.
While Mumbai no longer remains the manufacturing hub that it was in the 80s', retailers still faced a huge loss on account of this forced bandh. Viren Shah, president of Mumbai Retail Traders' Welfare Association, said traders suffered an estimated loss of Rs 200 crore on August 29 and 30.
Maharashtra State Gazetted Officers' Federation founder G D Kulthe told DNA that of the 25,000 employees who come to work daily, hardly anyone turned up on August 30. General Secretary of the federation, Sameer Bhatkar, claimed Mantralaya employees were entitled to three special leaves a year and August 30 leave was one such day. Both Kulthe and Bhatkar insisted there was no loss to the government as the employees finish their quota of work in any case.
