Due to the intense rain in Pune today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit has been canceled. Along with other municipal development initiatives, the Prime Minister was supposed to inaugurate a new Pune Metro line. Since Maharashtra is expected to hold elections shortly, the BJP was also expected to announce a poll strategy today.
In addition to launching the Metro line, PM Modi was scheduled to present the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in the city with a high-performance computing system to improve studies on weather and climate.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said that on Wednesday, there was around 131 mm of rain in Pune and the adjacent areas.
Pune District Collector Suhas Diwase on Thursday proclaimed a public holiday for all Pimpri Chinchwad and Pune schools and institutions due to the continuous rain.
The weather agency issued a red alert for Pune on Wednesday. The city experienced waterlogging and traffic jams as a result of the intense rain. Abundant rain continued to pummel the city all night and into the early hours of Thursday.
Heavy rains also caused major waterlogging in several areas of Maharashtra, which affected bus, train, and airline services in Pune and Mumbai. As the water levels in several regions dropped by Thursday morning, rail and bus services were once again available.
The Central Railway, meantime, said that all local trains are now running. However, because of rescheduled postal express movements and safety considerations, main line services are currently operating three to four minutes behind schedule. Despite the rain, suburban services on the Western Railway have also been reinstated, since water levels have dropped at multiple stations.
