Hyderabad, July 2: Management of a private junior college in Hyderabad’s Old City area has lodged a police complaint against a BJP leader and his supporters for barging into the college and threatening staff to show records, alleging that children of Rohingya Muslims were studying there.

According to the complaint lodged by the principal of Nooria Cooperative Junior College with Santosh Nagar police station, 30-40 workers led by a BJP leader from Maheshawaram, Andela Sriramulu Yadav, entered the college, threatened the staff, demanding them to show the record of the students.

The incident, which occurred at the college in the Edi Bazar area on Wednesday, created fear among staff and students, said the college principal Mohammed Ghaziuddin.

He sought action against the people involved in the incident. The principal denied allegations that the college has given admission to children of illegal migrants.

Huzaifa, a lecturer at the college, clarified that admissions are given as per the Board of Intermediate norms. He said admissions are given based on valid refugee cards.

Earlier, Sriramulu Yadav alleged that several children of illegal migrants were studying at the college. He said they came to know that one student of a Rohingya was studying at the college, and when they came to check this, they found children of several foreigners studying there.

The BJP leader alleged that All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is supporting the college to give admissions to Rohingyas.

He claimed that the college authorities showed us admission records for students reported to be Rohingya, along with Class 10 bona fide certificates and other identity documents submitted during the admission process.

He demanded that the college be derecognised by the state government for giving admissions to children of illegal migrants.

Sriramulu Yadav wanted to know if AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi was opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to shield the illegal migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Mumbai, July 2: Mumbai witnessed relentless rainfall over the past 24 hours, with the eastern suburbs recording the highest precipitation, leading to widespread waterlogging and disruptions across several parts of the city.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), rainfall recorded between 8:00 a.m. on July 1 and 6:00 a.m. on Thursday stood at 134 mm in Mumbai City, 164 mm in the Eastern Suburbs, and 149 mm in the Western Suburbs.

Among the worst-hit locations in the eastern suburbs, Mitha Municipal School in Mulund recorded the highest rainfall at 218.6 mm, followed by the S Ward Office with 212 mm. Paspoli Municipal School in Powai received 208.4 mm, while Gavanpada Fire Station and Mankhurd Fire Station recorded 205.8 mm and 200 mm, respectively.

In the western suburbs, the SWM Santacruz Workshop registered 216 mm of rainfall, while Narialwadi School in Santacruz recorded 214.4 mm. Andheri Fire Station received 204 mm, followed by Cooper Hospital with 193.2 mm and the K-West Ward Office with 192.6 mm.

Within Mumbai City, the G-South Ward Office recorded the highest rainfall at 187.8 mm, followed by the F-South Ward Office at 179 mm and the F-North Ward Office at 175 mm. B-Nadkarni Park Municipal School in Wadala received 173.6 mm, while Adarsh Nagar School in Worli recorded 172.8 mm.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to extremely heavy rainfall across parts of western India on Thursday and said the southwest monsoon is expected to remain active over the coming days.

The weather office has issued an Orange alert for Mumbai, Thane, and Raigad, warning of moderate to intense spells of rain at isolated locations over the next three hours.

The IMD said intense rainfall is likely at isolated places across these districts, increasing the risk of waterlogging, poor visibility, and traffic disruptions during the morning hours.

Authorities have also issued a red alert for Palghar district, predicting extremely heavy rainfall over the next 24 hours. In view of the forecast, the Palghar district administration has declared a holiday for all schools and colleges.

Officials said Thane district is likely to receive very heavy rainfall over the next three days. Continuous showers since late Tuesday night have triggered severe waterlogging across several residential areas.

Several localities in Thane district, including Ambernath, Kalyan, and Bhiwandi, remained inundated, leaving residents stranded in multiple pockets as stormwater drainage systems struggled to cope with the heavy downpour.

According to an official release from the Thane Municipal Corporation, the Mayor has directed civic officials to remain on high alert and deploy all available resources to minimise inconvenience and ensure timely assistance to affected residents.

Palghar Disaster Management Cell Chief Vivekanand Kadam said the district had received very heavy rainfall, but no major untoward incidents or casualties had been reported as of late Wednesday evening.

The latest forecast comes a day after incessant rain flooded roads, disrupted transport services, and, as many residents observed on social media, once again tested the resilience of Mumbaikars.

The IMD has further stated that a low-pressure area is likely to form over the northwest Bay of Bengal around July 3. The system is expected to strengthen monsoon activity, with Mumbai and the Konkan region likely to witness continued heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next several days. Isolated places may also experience extremely heavy rainfall, prompting authorities to remain on alert.

Under the Mumbai Pothole-Free Roads initiative, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has launched a road concreting project. Out of the 700 km of roads planned for concreting under Phase 1 and Phase 2, 576 km of roads are being concreted so far, achieving about 81% of the target. As an integral part of the concreting project, soak pits have been constructed to effectively manage rainwater and promote groundwater recharge. Accordingly, a total of 681 soak pits have been completed so far in the three divisions of Mumbai City, Eastern Suburbs and Western Suburbs. These soak pits will help in collecting rainwater in the ground and will also help in reducing the pressure on the drainage system.

The implementation of the road concreting project has become a major milestone in modernising Mumbai’s transport system. The project is helping to make traffic on major and secondary roads of Mumbai smoother, faster and more orderly, and the daily commute of citizens has improved significantly. So far, 576 km of roads have been concreted and all these roads have been opened for traffic. The project is being implemented within the stipulated time frame, strictly adhering to quality standards. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation administration, headed by Municipal Corporation Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, has launched a comprehensive cement concreting project to improve the quality of infrastructure in Mumbai. Due to which, travel on the roads is becoming easier. There are very few incidents of potholes due to rain on concrete roads and the maintenance costs have also come down. Apart from this, concrete roads last longer. The reason is that the citizens of Mumbai are getting pothole-free roads. Its long-term positive effects are being seen. To ensure that natural drainage of rainwater is uninterrupted due to concreting and to accelerate groundwater recharge, cesspits have been developed under the project.

Additional Municipal Commissioner (Project) Abhijeet Bangar said that special attention has been paid to natural drainage of rainwater and groundwater recharge while implementing the road concreting project.

It is planned to construct cesspits during the road work to allow rainwater to seep into the ground. These cesspits store rainwater and help it slowly infiltrate into the ground, which recharges the groundwater reserves. Filter media such as stones, gravel and sand are used in cesspools. Rainwater collected in roads or drains is diverted into these drains and from there it infiltrates into the deeper layers of the soil. This helps in storing rainwater locally without wasting it and helps in maintaining the groundwater level. It also helps in reducing the amount of water logging during heavy rainfall and aids in drainage system in urban areas. The completed concreting work has completed a total of 681 cesspools in Mumbai city, eastern suburbs and western suburbs by March 2026. While concreting of all remaining roads in Mumbai is being completed, more cesspools will be constructed along with it. This will help in developing a storm water management system across the city.

Pot filling method
In the construction of cement concrete roads, pits are made at desired locations to drain the rainwater collected on the road quickly into the ground, recharge the groundwater and prevent water from accumulating on the road surface and damaging the road. First, a pit of approximately 1.00 to 1.50 m diameter (circular) or 1.00 × 1.00 m to 1.50 × 1.50 m (square) size and 1.50 to 3.00 m deep is dug at the selected location for soaking. After the excavation is complete, the bottom of the pit is placed on natural soil without concrete, so that water can easily penetrate the ground.

Then a layer of large gravel 40 to 60 mm thick is placed at the bottom of the pit. On top of this, 20 to 40 mm. Gravel and finally 6 to 20 mm. A layer of gravel or coarse sand of the desired size is filled. Due to these layers, the water is filtered and gradually absorbed into the soil. Honeycomb brick construction or perforated RCC rings are installed on the sides of the pit due to which water also enters the soil from the sides and the absorption capacity is increased.

To carry water from the roadside drain or water channel to the absorption pit, two PVC or RCC pipes of 110 mm to 160 mm diameter are connected with a suitable slope. To prevent silt, plastic, garbage or other solids coming with the water from entering the absorption pit and clogging it, a silt trap or silt chamber is prepared before the pipe. This silt trap needs to be cleaned periodically.

A manhole cover is installed at the top of the absorption pit by providing an RCC slab of about 100 to 150 mm thickness. The location of the absorption pit is