Mumbai gets 100 mm rainfall in 10 hrs; rail, air traffic hit

Mumbai and its suburbs received over 100 mm of rainfall in ten hours till Sunday evening, inundating roads in many areas, diverting flights, and affecting local train traffic on a Central Railway section between Dadar and Matunga stations due to water-logging.

Mumbai city recorded 100 mm of rainfall in ten hours between 8 AM and 6 PM, while eastern and western suburbs received a rainfall of 118 mm and 110 mm, respectively, officials said.

A total of 36 flights were cancelled at the Mumbai airport and 15 flights, including the ones operated by Air India, IndiGo and Akasa, were diverted to nearby airports, mainly Ahmedabad, till 4 pm, amid intermittent heavy spells of rain.

Heavy rains forced the facility operator to suspend runway operations twice during the day, for eight minutes at 12.12 pm and later from 1 pm to 1.15 pm, sources said.

Local train services were delayed by 15 to 20 minutes on the Harbour Line due to waterlogging near Mankhurd, Panvel and Kurla stations, while services on the Western Railway section operated normally.

In the evening, the Central Railway services on the down fast line between Dadar and Matunga stations were affected. Additionally, water logging on tracks at Dadar on the Up and Down fast line compounded the problem, an official said. 

A few buses were diverted because of flooding in many parts of the city.

A traffic police official said Andheri Subway in DN Nagar was closed, and the southbound traffic was diverted via Gokhale Bridge and northbound traffic via Thackeray Bridge due to water accumulation.

Similarly, the Khar subway was closed, leading to traffic diversion via Linking Road. Maharashtra Nagar subway in Trombay was also shut for traffic due to flooding in the area, he said.

Several vehicles were stranded on inundated roads in Wadala and Matunga in central Mumbai, the official said.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde asked officials to be on high alert in light of heavy rains in several parts of Maharashtra.

The State Disaster Response Force, the local administration, civic bodies, police, etc, should take regular updates on the weather from the India Meteorological Department and plan accordingly to provide relief to citizens, he said. 

As many as 60 picnickers were rescued on Sunday after they were stuck in gushing water on a hill in Belapur node of Navi Mumbai amid heavy rains, officials said.

Navi Mumbai received 83.38 mm of rainfall in five hours ended at 1:30 PM, causing water-logging in several areas in Vashi, Nerul and Sanpada.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena-UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray on Sunday criticised the Maharashtra government after video clips surfaced on social media purportedly showing policemen filling potholes on roads in Mumbai and Mira Bhayander, on the city's outskirts.

Thackeray wondered why the men in khaki were being asked to fill the craters instead of the contracted firms owned by the allies of the BJP and the ruling alliance.