Torrential rain torments Mumbai

Three days of torrential downpour may have raised the lake levels, but has also battered the city, inundating low-lying areas and causing severe disruption in rail and road traffic.

Reports from satellite towns and other parts of Maharashtra — especially the coastal Konkan region — painted a similar picture.

The Mumbai weather bureau has predicted heavy showers for the next 24 hours, with the warning the coastal belt, up to Goa, would witness strong winds accompanied with very heavy downpour. The Vidarbha region may witness thundershowers.

The regional meteorological department has asked fishermen to refrain from venturing out to the sea.

In the city, heavy downpour for the third consecutive day left Mumbaikars exasperated at the snail-like traffic that brought the city to almost a standstill after flash floods waterlogged the roads.

Though there was a continuous drizzle throughout the day on Sunday, the intensity of the downpour increased from midnight, hitting Mumbaikars on Monday morning with news of rain battering parts of suburbs under skies with inky-black clouds.

Suburban train services on all three lines — western, central and harbour — were severely disrupted as overflowing sewer water submerged the rail tracks in several regions. At the airport, flights were delayed by 30 minutes to an hour due to low visibility.

Reports trickling in from the Konkan region stated that 10 crew members were rescued from a stranded Kolkata-bound cargo ship.

The ship – MV Shri Jayate – reported an engine failure on Sunday evening and was spotted drifting aimlessly off the shores of Ratnagiri, sparking panic amongst the fishing community residing along the coastline.

“It had reported an engine failure when it was around 5 km into the high seas. It later drifted, and is now stuck around 2 km in the Arabian Sea. With help of fishermen, we have rescued all the crewmen,” said Suvarna Patki, an official at the Ratnagiri Police Station.