Heavy rains lash Mumbai, nearby areas; girl drowns, people evacuated

Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and adjoining Thane and Palghar districts on Wednesday, disrupting suburban rail traffic and causing water-logging in low-lying areas from where people were evacuated, while a 14-year-old girl drowned in a swollen drain.

A four-month-old infant slipped out of the hands of a woman walking on railway tracks and fell into a nullah between Thakurli and Kalyan stations in Thane district.

"The Central Railway's suburban train services on the Kalyan-Badlapur stretch in Thane district were restored after seven hours, officials said. Services on the Kalyan-Kasara route were up and running after nearly three hours.

Services between Badlapur and Ambarnath were stopped at 11.05 hours due to waterlogging which disrupted the movement of trains from Kalyan to Karjat.

"Point failures" between Kalyan and Kasara prompted railway officials to stop the services on the stretch at around 2.40 pm.

The disruptions caused inconvenience to thousands of commuters. Since trains crawled or stood still on tracks, several commuters were seen walking on rail lines to reach the nearest station.

According to Rajnish Kumar Goyal, divisional manager of Central Railway's Mumbai division, the Ambarnath-Badlapur stretch, which is part of the Kalyan-Karjat section, was opened for traffic around 6 pm.

He said that the Down (Karjat-bound) line was restored first followed by the Up line (CSMT-bound) about half an hour later.

Goyal said they had stopped the services as a precautionary measure as water was flowing 8 inches above the track level.

Waterlogged tracks and technical failures had prompted railway authorities to cancel several suburban services.

Commuters complained of bunching of trains, due to which several of them jumped onto the tracks and walked to reach their desired destination or next station.

They also complained of heavy rush at stations.

The Central Railway said it had diverted some mail and express trains via the Diva-Panvel-Karjat route and Daund-Manmad route, besides short-terminating and cancelling a few trains between Mumbai and Pune.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced a holiday for all schools in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Palghar districts on Thursday (July 20) due to heavy rainfall warning.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, in a circular issued late in the evening, said schools (those having classes from nursery to 12) will remain closed in the city on Thursday.

Heavy showers also pounded Thane and Palghar districts, causing water-logging in many localities following which more than 250 families from low-lying areas in Thane were shifted to safer places, officials said.

Palghar collector Govind Bodke declared a holiday for all schools and colleges in the district on July 20 (Thursday) in view of a heavy rain alert.

The collector also advised citizens to avoid stepping out of their homes if it is not necessary.

In the 24 hours ended at 8.30 am on Wednesday, Thane city received 90.08 mm of rainfall.

Many rivers, including the Ulhas (Thane), Amba, Savitri and Patalganga (in neighbouring Raigad) were in spate, they said.

A team of National Disaster Response Force was dispatched to rescue some people trapped in Kalyan township as water from the swollen Ulhas river flooded some localities, a district official said.

Many areas in Bhiwandi city, also in Thane district, were marooned.

As many as 200 families from Sonivali and Hendrepada in Badlapur town of Thane were shifted to safer places following heavy downpour and flooding in those areas, district information officer Nandkumar Waghmare said.

Around 60 families from Morya Nagar in Kalyan taluka and inmates of a senior citizens' home in Ambarnath town in Thane district were also shifted to safer places, he said.

A report from the Thane district headquarters said the Amba river in Nagotane, Savitri in Mahad, Patalganga in Lohap, and Ulhas river in Jambulpada have crossed the danger mark.

The Kundalika river in Dolvahal, Ulhas in Badlapur, and Kalu in Titwala have crossed the warning level, it said.

Also, some bridges were inundated between Rayte and Dahagaon (over Ulhas river), on the road leading to Chikle village (over Kalu river), and over the Murbadi river in Murbad, a district administration official said.

Some areas in Vasai were water-logged and teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police and revenue department were carrying out rescue and relief operations, Palghar disaster management cell chief Vivekanand Kadam told PTI.

A four-month-old infant slipped out of the hands of a woman walking on railway tracks and fell into a nullah between Thakurli and Kalyan stations in Thane district as heavy rains disrupted local train services.

A Fire Brigade official said they have received a distress call about a child falling into the nullah along the railway track in Thane district and are launching an operation to trace the baby.

In Bhiwandi city, a 14-year-old girl drowned in a swollen drain while her 12-year-old brother was rescued by people, a civic official said.

The incident occurred in the afternoon when the brother-sister duo was walking home after attending school, the official said, adding the girl's body was fished out from the water later.

Train services of the Konkan Railway were stopped at Chiplun in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra on Wednesday afternoon as the Vashishthi river crossed the danger mark following incessant rains, an official said.

Overnight downpour have caused several rivers in the Konkan region to swell and trigger flood-like situations in Raigad and Ratnagiri districts, prompting authorities to relocate people in a few towns and villages to safer areas, said officials.

With more rains expected in coastal Maharashtra in the next couple of days, deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar instructed officials to relocate people in several parts of Chiplun town of Ratnagiri district due to the rising level of the Vashishthi river.

Of the six major rivers in Raigad district, Savitri and Patalganaga were flowing above the danger mark, said officials.

In Ratnagiri district, Jagbudi and Vashishthi rivers have turned ferocious due to heavy rains. In Ratnagiri district, at least 20 families were shifted to safer locations. At Mirjoli Juwad village, 65 members of 19 families were evacuated, said officials.

Rains and rising water levels of rivers have prompted authorities to declare holidays for schools and colleges in Khed and Chiplun tehsil of Ratnagiri district for two days.