Ensure safety of tourists at picnic spots during monsoon: Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole

The government must clarify the steps it is taking to prevent such mishaps at picnic spots during monsoons, the Congress leader said referring to the Lonavala mishap where five people were swept away.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Monday questioned the state government about the facilities it has set up for the safety of tourists at picnic spots during monsoons and the steps it has taken to prevent accidents.

Patole raised the issue in the state legislative assembly a day after five persons got swept away at Bhushi dam in Lonavala.

While the bodies of four, including three children, have been recovered, police, Navy divers and other rescue teams are searching for a four-year-old boy.

The government must clarify the steps it is taking to prevent such mishaps at picnic spots during monsoons, the Congress leader said.

Patole also demanded that the authorities provide facilities to persons who stage protests at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.

"There is mud and dirt all around at Azad Maidan. Is the government waiting for a mishap to happen?" he asked.

He also demanded the rehabilitation of slum dwellers in Powai whose homes had been demolished by authorities.