First rains hit normal life in Mumbai

The first bout of rains hit normal life in Mumbai, impacting road and rail services on Saturday when the south-west monsoon progressed into Maharashtra.

According to the weathermen, moderate to heavy rainfall is likely in coastal Konkan-Goa belt for the next four to five days.

During the last 24 hours, parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) recorded anywhere between 60 to 120 mm rainfall on an average.

There was water-logging in central Mumbai areas of Hindmata, Dadar, Sion and King’s Circle – all in low-lying areas. Water gushed into some houses and shops in these areas. Road traffic was disrupted and people were seen wading through knee-deep water. In south Mumbai, water gushed into low-lying areas of Byculla, including the local police station. Civic workers found garbage and plastic material clogging the drains in flooded low-lying areas.

In Prabhadevi, four persons were injured when a slab caved in.

1 dead, 6 injured

In Uttan in Bhayender, one fisherman was killed and six others injured when lightning struck them during the morning thundershowers.

In Raigad district’s Navi Mumbai, there was water-logging in villages in the vicinity of the Navi Mumbai International Airport, where work is underway.

In the Thane-Palghar belt too there were heavy rains in forest areas like Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary and Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary.

Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta personally inspected the chronic monsoon-bottleneck spots and also visited a couple of pumping stations.

While Western Railway services were normal, Central Railway services were delayed by 15 to 20 minutes in the morning and post-noon because of flooding of tracks between Sion and Matunga. There was water-logging in Kurla as well that affected the Harbour line services.

In the morning, arrival and departures of flights were delayed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. Private airliner Jet Airways in a tweet said: “Due to air traffic congestion in Mumbai consequent to heavy rains, arrival and departure delays of up to 30 minutes are expected at the Mumbai airport till 2200 hrs.”

Three teams of National Disaster Response Force will be stationed at Parel, Mankhurd (for eastern suburbs) and Andheri Sports Complex (for western suburbs), according to officials of the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Rains set in several other parts of Maharashtra as well. The Mumbai-based Regional Meteorological Centre of the IMD has asked fishermen not to venture into the Arabian Sea because of inclement and choppy conditions.