Rain pounds Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata

 Mumbai was soaked again and water-logging continued on Wednesday as heavy rain coinciding with high tide lashed the city, Thane, Konkan and other areas — including Greater Mumbai — of Maharashtra.

Civic agencies issued a red alert in the metro, advising people to stay at home and schools to shut as a precautionary measure.

Ahmedabad received over 59 mm rainfall, with the walled areas of the city becoming water-logged. However, even as Kolkata received heavy rain, parts of West Bengal remained deficient.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy to heavier rain in Mumbai and other areas during the next 48 hours, with an advisory “for people to venture out if it is a must”.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has also advised people not to travel in the city unless essential. It has also asked schools in Mumbai and adjacent suburbs to keep shut as a precautionary measure.

The BMC said that in Mumbai, a high tide is expected during the day with forecast of 4.9-metre-high waves.

Meanwhile, in Thane city, adjacent to Greater Mumbai suburbs, a 1-km-long stretch of the Mumbra bypass on the outskirts caved in this morning due to incessant rain and has been closed for vehicular traffic, said police officials.

The closure bypass has led to traffic snarls inside the city. The Mumbra bypass on the National Highway 4 is a crucial link to traffic from Delhi-Ahmedabad-Mumbai (NH-3) and Agra-Nashik-Mumbai (NH-8), and is mostly used by heavy vehicles.

In Gujarat, students in Ahmedabad-based schools were asked to go home much before the scheduled time due to the heavy rain. Many schools in the city, especially those in the old city area, have decided to keep closed on Thursday due to the heavy showers and water-logging. Met department officials said the city was likely to receive heavier rainfall in the next 48 hours.

Apart from Ahmedabad, heavy rain also lashed parts of the state including South Gujarat and Saurashtra regions. 

Due to the heavy rain, reports of tree felling, traffic jams and water-logging, especially in the old city areas have become a regular occurrence.  On the other hand, although the situation in most parts of western and southern Bengal is serious due to rainfall deficiency, the regional meteorological department is hopeful of improved conditions over the next two months.

Senior met department officials at Alipore agree that although July is the peak of the monsoon, there has been not much rain yet, leading to a deficiency.