Amidst ongoing heavy rains, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has announced that all schools and colleges in its jurisdiction will remain open on July 26th (Friday). The decision comes as a welcome relief to many, with the BMC reassuring citizens that current weather conditions in Mumbai are stable, allowing daily activities to continue without disruption.
In a statement on social media platform X, the BMC stated, “All schools and colleges in the BMC area will operate normally on Friday, 26th July 2024. We urge parents to disregard any false information or rumors about closures and to trust only official updates from the BMC.” The statement also urged citizens to stay informed and to take necessary precautions against the heavy rains.
However, the Regional Meteorological Center (RMC) has predicted “heavy to very heavy rainfall in city and suburbs” on July 26th. In a post on X, the RMC stated, “Possibility of extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places. Occasional gusty winds reaching 60-70 kmph very likely.”
The Raigad administration has taken a different approach, ordering the closure of educational institutions on Friday due to a heavy rainfall alert. This decision comes after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for Mumbai on July 26th and a yellow alert for July 27th.
Maharashtra has been grappling with continuous downpours, and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reviewed the situation on Thursday, directing the Raigad collector to provide full support to those affected by flooding. The IMD’s latest press release forecasts “isolated extremely heavy rainfall” over the ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra from July 25-27, in Konkan and Goa on July 25-26, and the Gujarat region on July 25.
Red alerts were issued for Raigad on July 26th and for Ratnagiri and Satara on the same day, and an orange alert was issued for Raigad on July 27th.
Rainfall data recorded over the past 24 hours until 8:30 a.m. on Thursday showed Mumbai city receiving 44 mm, the Eastern suburbs 90 mm, and the Western suburbs 89 mm.
