HC to civic body: List people who died in floods

Bombay high court asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Wednesday to submit within three days, a list of people who died in the recent deluge in the metropolis.

Hearing a public interest litigation, filed by a group of television and Bollywood personalities, Chief Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice S F Vajifdar asked the BMC to furnish information about the deceased in three days.

Bollywood personalities file PIL in HC

Adjourning the hearing to August 22, the court further asked the state and central government to file their replies on other issues raised in the petition within three weeks.

The petitioners informed that they have submitted a list of 42 non-governmental organisations to the court in consultation with the advocate general, which would assist the government and coordinate in collection and disbursement of funds in total transparency to the victims without any delay.

The PIL alleged that the disaster management system was a "total failure" and sought a reply from authorities on the steps taken by them to provide relief to victims of the heavy rains in the state, besides the measures adopted to tackle such a calamity in future.

The PIL was filed by Project Smita, an NGO established in the memory of late actress Smita Patil, film maker Mahesh Bhatt, producer-director Ashok Pandit, theatre personality Alayque Padamsee and other film personalities including Raman Kumar, Vinta Nanda, Soni Razdan and Anu Ranjan.

Besides the central and state government, other respondents are Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, Commissioner of Police, Railway authorities and the India Meteorological Department.

The court had earlier asked the state government to give priority to collection of garbage as there was fear of a greater disaster if an epidemic broke out after the deluge in the city.

It had also expressed serious concern over piling up of garbage and non-availability of drinking water in various parts of Maharashtra in the recent deluge and asked the state to explain what steps it had taken to prevent outbreak of epidemic in the flood-affected areas.

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