Heavy rains in Mumbai hit local train, flight services; schools and colleges shut

Mumbai: Local train services on the Central Railway routes were severely affected and flight operations were also hit in Mumbai on Monday after heavy rains in the city, officials said.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) declared a holiday for the day for all the civic, government and private schools and colleges in the city to avoid inconvenience to students.

"The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in Mumbai. Additionally, at 1.57 pm today, there will be a 4.40 m high tide in the sea," a BMC spokesperson said.

Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer of the Central Railway (CR), said train services on the fast line of the main corridor between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai and neighbouring Thane were suspended due to waterlogging at various places.

Suburban services were running on the slow line, he said.

The Harbour corridor services were also temporarily suspended due to waterlogging at Chunnabhati.

Commuters complained that the operational suburban services were running late. There was heavy rush of commuters at some of the key stations and in trains.

The CR officials said due to heavy rain and high tide in Mumbai, local train movement in the suburban section was affected and asked people to avoid travelling unless unavoidable.

The civic body said there will be a high tide of 4.40 meters in Mumbai at 1.57 pm, which coupled with heavy rains could lead to waterlogging in low lying areas.

The Western Railway said suburban trains were running up to 10 minutes late because water was above the track level between Matunga Road and Dadar due to heavy showers.

"High capacity water pumps are being utilised to drain water away from the railway tracks to ensure a smooth commute for Mumbaikars," a Western Railway spokesperson said.

Heavy rains and low visibility led to the suspension of runway operations at the Mumbai airport from 2.22 am to 3.40 am on Monday and 27 diversions were reported, sources said.

Flights were diverted to cities such as Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Indore, among others, they said.

Currently, priority is being given to arriving flights, the sources added.

A spokesperson of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking said at least 40 bus routes in the city and suburbs were either diverted or curtailed due to waterlogging on roads at various locations.

The IMD issued a "Nowcast" warning at around 10.15 am, valid for three hours, predicting moderate spells of rainfall in the city and suburbs.

It forecast "heavy rainfall at isolated places" in the next 24 hours.

The BMC said some areas in Mumbai received more than 300 mm rainfall from 1 am to 7 am on Monday.

The civic body appealed to citizens not to believe in rumours and dial its control numbers for emergency help.

Municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani was at the disaster management control room and keeping a close eye on the situation, a civic spokesperson said.

There was no overflowing of the Poisar, Dahisar, and Oshiwara rivers in western Mumbai , he said.

BMC's disaster management control room was keeping an eye on all the happenings and all senior officials and ward level staffers are on the field, the civic body said.

In the 24-hour period ending at 8 am on Monday, the island city recorded an average 115.63 mm rainfall, while the eastern and western parts of Mumbai received 168.68 mm and 165.93 mm rain, respectively, an official said.

In eastern Mumbai, Govandi recorded the highest 315.6 mm rainfall, followed by 314.5 mm at Powai, while in western parts, Malpa Dongri in Andheri received the highest 292.2 mm rainfall followed by 278.2 mm at Chakala.

In the island city, Pratiksha Nagar got 220.2 mm rainfall, followed by 185.8 mm in Sewri Koliwada.

The IMD Mumbai in the morning predicted "generally cloudy sky with moderate to heavy rain in the city and suburbs" in the next 24 hours, the BMC said.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed in Kurla and Ghatkopar areas of Mumbai and in other parts of Maharashtra, including Thane, Vasai ( Palghar), Mahad (Raigad), Chiplun (Ratnagiri), Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara and Sindhudurg, a spokesperson of the NDRF said.