Rains paralyse Mumbai's traffic; R'than welcomes monsoon

 Heavy rains pounding Mumbai threw evening traffic out of gear in the city, while Rajasthan is the latest north Indian state to have welcomed the monsoon.

With forecast of heavy rains by weathermen on the coastal Konkan region in Maharashtra, Mumbai’s road and rail traffic were severely affected by the downpour.

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre in Mumbai and Disaster Management Unit of the Maharashtra Government, heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in the Konkan-Goa coast in the next 120 hours.

A senior met official said moisture incursion due to a low pressure area in north Arabian sea is bolstering chances of heavy rains in the west coast and north-western India. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the Arabian Sea as it would be choppy.

While trains along central and western railway were delayed by half an hour, road traffic in south and central Mumbai moved at a snail’s pace. With fewer autos and taxies on the road, people had difficulties reaching their homes.

Meanwhile, monsoon showers continued to lash Rajasthan on Wednesday. Jaipur’s Met office said the monsoon arrived in the state via Madhya Pradesh and is triggering rains over Chittorgarh and Barmer districts. The bureau also noted that hyper-activities in the sea around Gujarat has pushed the western end of the monsoon into Rajasthan, five days ahead of its scheduled arrival.

In Tamil Nadu, intense monsoon activities have kept the rainfall steady over the southern districts for the third consecutive day on Wednesday. The Met department is forecasting heavy rains for the next 48 hours over the districts.

“(Tuesday’s) trough on sea level chart running from coastal Andhra Pradesh to south Tamil Nadu now runs from Odisha to Comorin area across south coastal Andhra Pradesh and north interior Tamil Nadu,” a weather official said, predicting heavy rains especially over the Ghats area.