Sunday, July 31 2005 11:41 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: The unprecedented rains that wrecked havoc in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra have claimed 853 lives, including 420 in Mumbai, even as outbursts against alleged "inefficiency" of the State Government in handling the situation today (July 31, 2005) spilled on the streets at Mumbra in adjacent Thane district.

Hundreds of people in Mumbra resorted to a 'rasta roko' (road block) agitation on the Thane-Mumbra road to protest the inept handling of the contingency by the civic body, which failed to clear the rot in the area following the floods.

While road traffic was limping to normalcy, long-distance trains of Central Railway stood cancelled till August 6, CR sources said. Mumbai airport, which had started functioning since yesterday, today witnessed a near miss when an incoming AI flight from Bangalore with 335 passengers on board skidded into mud on landing.

A State Government official told reporters that the estimated damage to property due to rains, pegged at Rs 2000 crore earlier, was now double the figure. Meanwhile, Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities today said efforts would be made to clear the garbage piled up in the various areas of the city by tomorrow.