After an hour of rainfall, the Panaji Smart City in Goa was flooded, leading to the inundation of several roads and shops.

Opposition parties had asked the ruling BJP government in the state to complete the ongoing work in the Smart City before the arrival of the monsoon season.

But as the work remained incompleted, the city was flooded on Tuesday night.

Reacting to the incident, Congress leader Amarnath Panjikar said: “Panaji Smart City is flooded after just an hour of rain. Just imagine Union Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri what will happen if it rains continuously for more than one hour?

“We had requested you (Puri) to hold a padyatra and walk through Panaji to inspect, but you preferred to sit in the AC Room to enjoy.”

The flood water reached knee level on the ’18 June Road’, which is in the heart of the city.

Earlier in May, when Union Minister Puri had visited the coastal state to review the ‘Smart City’, Congress had advised him to told a Padyatra’in Panaji to witness the substandard work and corruption involved in the project.

Not only the opposition, but Panaji BJP MLA and Revenue Minister Atanasio Monserrate also alleged that the ongoing work is sub-standard.

“I hope I am wrong. But the work of Smart City is substandard. I am just waiting and watching. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has taken charge… My concern is that people should not suffer. I have not interfered because one consultant has been paid Rs 8 crore. I believe he should have been under supervision of PWD. Everyone is trying to wash their hands,” Monserrate said.

“I don’t say whether the consultancy failed or not. (This factor) we will come to know during monsoon season. I feel that substandard work of Smart City is going on. I had done inspection at some places and that work was not up to the standard. When consultancy is there and crores of rupees are spent on them, it is their job to deliver.”

The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) area received an average of 62.2 mm rainfall from Monday 8.30 am to Tuesday 8.30 am. The maximum rainfall was reported in the Airoli ward with 78.2 mm, followed by Koparkhairane with 75.4 mm.

Meanwhile, the Digha ward received 64.4mm of rainfall followed by Nerul which received 48.6mm of rain. Belapur ward received the lowest amount of rainfall and it stood at 41mm.

Here is the ward-wise break up:

Digha-64.4 mm

Belapur-41 mm

Nerul- 48.6 mm

Airoli-78.2 mm

Vashi-65.6 mm

Koparkhairane – 75.4 mm

Total average rainfall under NMMC: 278 mm

Tree felling incidents

Due to rains and gusty winds, nearly 12 trees got uprooted in the city. The civic jurisidiction also received two calls of short circuit in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the level of water in Morbe Dam rose to 68.5 meters. The total rainfall the catchment area received was 241.8mm.

Mumbai Weather

Meanwhile, the India Meterological Department has issued an Organe Alert for the city and suburbs and Palghar district as well. Heavy to very heavy rains are expected to lash the city. Meanwhile, the weather agency gave Thane district a yellow alert which means that the city will see light to moderate rainfall through the day.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday issued a yellow alert for Mumbai for June 26-27, indicating that there will be heavy rain in isolated places in the city that is waiting for the monsoon to arrive. Meanwhile, on June 24 and June 25, the sky is expected to be cloudy and there is a possibility of light rain in Mumbai, which will provide some respite from the rising temperatures, according to IMD.

Experts express optimism

Officials at IMD Mumbai and climate experts have expressed optimism as the conditions are favourable for the onset of the monsoon over the weekend. “We are expecting the monsoon to arrive this weekend, between June 24 and 25. There is a possibility of good rain in the upcoming week,” said Sushma Nair an IMD official.

“The city is expected to experience rain from June 24 and the intensity of the rain would increase by June 25. We can expect heavy rain of as much as 100 mm on June 27-28. There is a possibility of localised flooding in vulnerable locations,” according to weather expert Rajesh Kapadia.

City received 0.59mm of rain

On June 23, the city received 0.59 mm of rain, while the eastern suburban area received 2.05 mm of rain and the western suburb received 0.36 of rain.