Mumbai breaks century-old record as rains mark attendance with a bang

Mumbai: As the south-west monsoon hit Mumbai earlier than expected, it shattered more than a century-old record and caught the financial capital unawares as the downpour disrupted the road, rail and air transport on Monday.

There was inundation in arterial roads of Mumbai, water gushed into low-lying areas, and people were seen wading in knee-deep and waist-deep waters in several chronic spots of the twin districts Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban.

The Maharashtra government and the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the richest and one of the biggest civic bodies, came under severe criticism from Mumbaikars.

If one looks at decadal records, monsoon sets in Maharashtra on June 5 and Mumbai on June 11.

However, 26 May, as the D-Day - 16 days ahead of normal - was completely unexpected and caught the machinery unawares.

The annual monsoon made its arrival on 29 May in 1956, 1962 and 1971 and on 31 May in 1990 and 2006.

The upscale area of Colaba also broke the all-time rainfall record for the month of May, logging 295 mm, surpassing the previous record of 279.4 mm recorded in May 1918.

“This kind of rain in Mumbai is unprecedented. I have not seen this kind of rainfall ever in May,” said Dinesh Sadh, a South Mumbai resident.

There was waterlogging in the Mantralaya garden area as well - a thing that had never been reported in the past.

There was waterlogging in Badlapur, Matunga, Dadar, Masjid, Byculla, which affected the Central Line and Harbour Line services.

The Western Line services were running but were slower than usual.

Some arrivals and departures at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport were affected. "In light of the inclement weather and forecast of heavy to very heavy rains, Mumbai Airport advises all the passengers to check their flight status with their respective airlines and leave for the airport a little earlier,” the CSMIA said in an advisory.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was in Nagpur and Nanded with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, reviewed the situation with Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik and the State Disaster Management Cell.

“Mumbai has recorded 135.4 mm of rainfall in 24 hours. Complaints of waterlogging were received at a total of 6 places in Mumbai. Complaints of short circuit incidents were received at a total of 18 places and building wall collapse at 5 places,” Fadnavis said.

The IMD has forecast rains accompanied by winds ‍in Mumbai for the next 24 hours.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is the Mumbai City guardian minister, visited the BMC’s Disaster Management Cell and Mantralaya’s Emergency Response Centre to review the situation.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is the Pune guardian minister, was camping in Baramati to oversee the situation in Western Maharashtra and South Konkan.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) suspended the operation after flooding was reported at the underground Acharya Atre Chowk station at Worli.

The inundation inside the metro station has raised concerns about construction quality and monsoon preparedness of the underground metro station on the 33-km-long Colaba-BKC-Aarey JVLR underground metro corridor. "Due to the sudden and intense rainfall today, water seepage was reported at the under-construction entry/exit structure of Acharya Atrey Chowk station along Dr Annie Besant Road. The incident occurred when the RCC water-retaining wall constructed at entry/ exit collapsed due to a sudden ingress of water from an adjoining utility,” it said.

A tree branch fell on the electric wires between Churchgate and Marine Lines stations.

Vehicular traffic was affected after low-lying areas, including King's Circle.

The NDRF has been put on alert in Mumbai.

"I had an important appointment in Dadar in Mumbai around noon. However, I had to postpone it for a couple of days because of the situation," said Ashok Kumar, who stays in the western suburbs.