Maharashtra's Tamhini mountain pass, Matheran hill station receives massive rainfall

Mumbai: The crucial mountain pass in Tamhini in Pune district and popular hill station of Matheran in Raigad district received massive downpour in 24 hours over Tuesday and Wednesday - which is a record of sorts.

The Pune-Raigad belt, which is part of the Sahyadri ranges of Western Ghats, is receiving heavy downpour since last weekend.

The Tamhini Ghats, situated in the crest of Western Ghat ranges received 575 mm rainfall. The 15-km-long ghat section has scenic waterfalls, lakes and dense woods. During the rainy season, the place transforms into a green bed with many waterfalls and streams.

The Tamhini Ghat recorded 230 mm in the last 5 days and 7,428 mm from 1 June. “Mind-boggling,” said Naveen Reddy, a techie and traveller with interests in weather monitoring.

Located 108 kms away from downtown Mumbai and 120 kms from Pune in Raigad district, the hill station is part of the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) - and is a weekend destination for its hills, forests and picturesque locations. Matheran recorded 438.4 mm rainfall, the season’s total is 4247.6 mm.

“As had been warned, the Ghats got absolutely thrashed yesterday! Mind boggling 24 hour figures - Tamhini 575 mm (highest since 1994) Bhira (568 mm), Matheran (438 mm), Shirgaon ( 430 mm), Davdi (419 mm), Lonavla (418 mm), Bhimashankar ( 386 mm), Koyna (316 mm), Mahabaleshwar (301 mm) rainfall,” posted Athreya Shetty, an agriculture and crop scientist.

Nestled in the Sahyadri ranges of Western Ghats, Matheran, is an eco-sensitive region and is Asia's only automobile-free hill station. Matheran, which means - “forest on the forehead" - was discovered in May 1850 by Hugh Poyntz Malet, the then district collector of Thane.

Lord Elphinstone, the then Governor of Bombay laid the foundations of the development as a future hill station. The Britishers developed Matheran as a popular resort to beat the summer heat in the region.

The Matheran Hill Railway - a popular toy train - was built in 1907 by Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy. One can do a lot of things in Matheran – walk, trek, mountaineering and rock climbing, valley crossing, night trails, bird watching and so on. It also has a toy train run by the Central Railway.

The Lonavla-Khandala twin hill stations between Mumbai and Pune and Igatpuri in Nashik district also got good rainfall. Lonavla - along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway recorded 418 mm rainfall in 24 hours.

The Malshej Ghats located between Mumbai and Ahmednagar also got good rainfall.

In Palghar, tourist places like Vikramgad got 225 mm rainfall while Jawhar 193 rainfall.

Besides Matheran, the hill station of Mahabaleshwar in Satara district recorded heavy rainfall. In fact, Mahabaleshwar is the origin of the Krishna River - which passes through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh towards Bay of Bengal.