Heavy rain throws Mumbai out of gear

Late evening reports by the fire brigade revealed that there were at least three landslides. In one such incident, in south Mumbai, one person was killed and at least three persons sustained injuries when a boulder from a small hillock rolled down.

Suburban trains on all the three lines-Central, Western and Harbour- came to a standstill early on Monday morning, as rains also disrupted road transport. With visibility levels falling below 450 metres, air traffic in the two city airports were halted.

In a statement released during the day, civic authorities issued a high-tied warning, while the meteorological department forecasted intermittent to heavy rains with strong gust in some parts of the city for the next 24 hours.  On Sunday, the weather bureau had recorded 220.4 mm rainfall at Santa Cruz and had intimated civic department as well as police force and railways of a possibility of an inclement weather on Monday.

Mumbaikars were expecting the worst, with the city roads filled by puddles of sewage water flowing out from underground drainage system causing traffic jams in many places.
Prompted by radio and television forecasts of further rains, city residents remained indoors on Monday. Schools and colleges were closed, while south Mumbai, the haven of offices and business establishments, wore an eerie silence.

The city’s railway stations were crowded with passengers waiting patiently for an occasional train.

Railway lines that stretch through the city suburbs grinded to a halt as the low-lying areas both in the island city and suburban areas were inundated following continuous downpour without heavy winds or thunder-clouds. Central Railway PRO A K Singh said, “Skeletal services were resumed later in the day as the water had receded from the tracks to quite an extent,” adding that on Sunday a portion of rail tracks near Karjat (Raigad) were washed away due to heavy flooding in the region.

According to airport officials, flight operations were affected partially due to persistent rain and poor visibility. “twice during the day flight operations had to be suspended,” they said.   Civic authorities say that by Sunday, most of the dams were overflowing and Mithi river which runs through the suburban city also saw a rise to 4.2 metre, leading to an emergency evacuation of hutment dwellers on the banks.

According to a civic official note, Tansa lake which supplies potable water to city was over-flowing so do other catchment areas like Modaksagar (Vaitarna,) Vihar, Tulsi, Upper Vaitarna and Bhatasa.

Rains, winds batter Goa

Heavy rains accompanied by gusty winds lashed Goa and adjoining areas over the last two days, disrupting power supply in several places and heavely affecting day to day life.