Deshmukh puts up a brave face

MUMBAI: As heavy rains continued to lash the city for the fourth consecutive day throwing normal life out of gear, Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Tuesday said authorities were geared up to tackle the situation.

Schools will remain closed tomorrow also as a precautionary measure, he announced. Deshmukh, who chaired a meeting of the Disaster Management Cell here, told reporters that all efforts were being made to ensure smooth flow of traffic and clear water-logging in various low-lying areas of the metropolis.

The meeting was attended by Mumbai police commissioner AN Roy, senior BMC and traffic officials. Deshmukh said compared to last year, South Mumbai had received heavy rainfall during the last four days, resulting in water-logging in several low-lying areas.

Clearing water-logging would take some time as the present drainage system is an old one. The state government and the BMC has planned to modernise the system, he said.