Mumbai, India’s financial and movie capital, got a respite from rains on Monday and waters receded from several areas. But many areas remained waterlogged from the heavy showers over the weekend.
Civic officials said efforts were on to pump out water from flooded areas in central and suburban Mumbai.
“Water pumps have been working throughout the night to pump out water from low-lying areas,” said Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner J N Pathak.
“By and large the roads have been made safe to travel, so we do not expect any traffic bottlenecks. We don’t want a repeat of the July 2005 deluge at any cost.”
Heavy showers since Saturday had thrown life in the city out of gear as transport services were severely disrupted.
At least five people have died due to landslides and building collapses caused by the downpour.
Pathak blamed the flooding on the British-built storm water drainage system. He said the storm water drains could carry only 40 mm of rainwater every hour. According to the meteorological department, Mumbai received 279 mm of rainfall - about 10 percent of its annual rainfall.
Though the rains have stopped temporarily, several suburbs and neighbouring Navi Mumbai are reeling under long and unscheduled power cuts.
“The rains may have stopped and there is certainly relief for us but erratic power supply has added to our woes,” said Smriti Sirodkar, a housewife in Navi Mumbai.
The railway network is also slowly getting back on track, officials said. Stations were packed with people as many trains were delayed on Sunday. “Many long-distance trains were delayed due to water logging on Sunday evening. Many trains have been rescheduled,” an official said.
The relief might be shortlived as heavy rains have been predicted in Mumbai and some pockets of central and western Maharashtra in the next couple of days.