Mumbai: Heavy rains battered Mumbai for the second day on Tuesday, flooding streets and severely disrupting road traffic and local train services, considered as the city’s lifeline, officials said.
Nearly 350 persons from Kurla area were shifted to safer locations as the Mithi river, which runs through the city, swelled after torrential rains, Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Office said.
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reviewed the situation and said the civic chief told him the city received nearly 200 mm rainfall in just six hours.
Schools, colleges, government and semi-government offices remained shut and the Bombay High Court functioned only till 12.30 pm due to the incessant rains which crippled normal life.
The Mumbai Police and civic authorities appealed to residents to step out of homes only if necessary and also requested the private sector to allow work from home.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a ‘red alert’ for Konkan region, including Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Palghar districts and adjoining ghat areas of central Maharashtra, warning of extremely heavy rainfall till Wednesday.
The IMD said widespread rainfall was very likely over Konkan and Madhya Maharashtra’s ghat regions, with heavy to very heavy showers at several places and isolated extremely heavy rainfall.
The Central Railway suspended its local train services on the harbour line between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Kurla stations due to submergence of tracks in a section after heavy rains, officials said.
It also suspended the services on its main line between Kurla and Sion stations as the rail tracks got waterlogged, they said.
A senior official of the Central Railway said the harbour line services were suspended between CSMT and Kurla from 11.20 am since the tracks were submerged under nearly 12 inches of water as the Mithi river located nearby swelled.
“Due to heavy rains in Mumbai and #Waterlogging at Chunnabhatti station, train services on the Harbour Line between CLA and CSMT are suspended until further notice,” Hiren Meena, divisonal railway manager of the Central Railway’s Mumbai division, said in a post on X.
The city civic body said the government and semi-government offices here will remain closed on Tuesday and appealed to the private establishments to allow their employees to work from home and avoid unncessary travel.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in a statement, announced the closure as a precautionary measure, in view of the continuous heavy rains in the city and suburbs and the ‘red alert’ warning issued by the IMD.
The statement said the decision applies to all BMC offices and state-run establishments, excluding essential services.
Schools and colleges were also shut in view of the relentless rains and the ‘red alert’ warning issued by the IMD.
The Mumbai Police appealed to residents to step out of homes only if necessary and also requested the private sector to allow work from home.
Several parts of Mumbai received more than 200 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours, with Vikhroli in the eastern suburbs reporting the highest downpour at 255.5 mm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The Directorate of Higher Education has declared a holiday for all senior colleges in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. The order applies to colleges in Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts.
Several parts of the city, including Borivali, Andheri, Sion, Dadar and Chembur, witnessed intense downpour through the night and the rain continued in the morning as well, resulting in water-logging in low-lying areas, including Gandhi Market.
Waterlogging was also reported at Hindmata, Andheri Subway and in some parts of the Eastern Express Highway, Mumbai-Gujarat highway and the Eastern Freeway.
The Mithi river in Mumbai swelled after continuous heavy rain for the last few days and as a result, some areas along its banks witnessed water-logging, according to officials.
A video of the Mithi river, possibly shot from a bridge near the Powai lake, showed the furious flow of the water.
“In Mumbai, the rain continues unabated, with an average of more than 150 mm of rainfall recorded from 4 AM to 11 AM today. The suburbs have seen even higher amounts. The water level of the Mithi River has risen to 3.9 meters, and 350 residents from Kurla Krantinagar have been relocated to safer places,” the CMO said in a post on X.
“Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is continuously reviewing the situation, and the Municipal Commissioner is keeping a close watch on the circumstances,” it added.
“Due to the excessive rains, the BMC officials have shifted some 300 persons to safer locations as a precautionary measure,” Deputy CM Shinde told reporters.
“Mumbai and MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region) received heavy rainfall. I spoke to BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagarani who told me that in six hours, nearly 200 mm rainfall was recorded in Mumbai. In 24 hours, the downpour was 300 mm. I came here to review the Mithi river’s situation. Its bed has swollen and officials are working to ease the flow,” he said.
As many as 525 pumps, 10 mini pumping stations and six main pumping stations were operational to drain out the water, Shinde said.
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