This year, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) witnessed the wettest July since 1901. Last weekend saw about 307mm rainfall in Kalyan-Dombivli region in just 24 hours. The authorities released water from the overflowing Barvi dam in Thane district. To add to this, the highest tide was recorded on August 4, 2019. All this resulted into massive flooding of downstream areas, with river water level rising over the 50-year High Flood Line (HFL) limit. The region was in absolute shambles, in fact, the situation worsened to an extent that the Indian Air Force had to airlift 56 people from Khadavli.
Palava by Lodha is a planned city, spread over several acres and currently housing close to 30,000 families across nearly 400 buildings. A small section of Palava numbering around 25 buildings were impacted by heavy rainfall and rising water levels. A Lodha spokesperson said, "The in-house Storm Water Pumping Station played a key role in pumping the water out and ensuring the water levels receded. A 200 member team of Palava City Management Association staff with support from residents worked round the clock to avert any adverse impact on the citizens. The team made provisions for safe water, food supplies including milk to the affected residents almost on an immediate basis."
Mahesh Koli, a resident of Palava said, "PCMA team worked round the clock to get the situation under control." The efforts of PCMA and residents ensured that normalcy was restored by Monday i.e. less than 24 hours from the time of flooding.
