Heavy rain in Mumbai after dry spell; trains, road traffic hit

After a week-long dry spell, heavy rains lashed Mumbai and neighbouring districts during the night and on Wednesday morning, causing flooding in some areas and slowing down local trains and road traffic movement. Eight people were injured after three cars collided in suburban Andheri due to poor visibility amid the heavy downpour early Wednesday, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation spokesperson said.

Two of them, who worked at a five-star hotel in Juhu area, were admitted to a private hospital, he said. The rains, however, brought good news for city residents facing water woes due to drying up of lakes and reservoirs around the metropolis, the official said. The weatherman has predicted more rains in the city and its suburbs during the next two days.

The heavy downpour since midnight caused water-logging in low-lying areas of Sion, Dadar, Mumbai Central, Kurla, Andheri and Sakinaka, slowing down vehicular movement on roads, the BMC official said. Nearly 171mm rainfall was recorded at the India Meteorological Department observatory at Colaba in south Mumbai between 8.30am on Tuesday and 5.30am on Wednesday, an IMD official said.

The observatory in suburban Santacruz recorded 58mm downpour in the same period, he added. Some buses of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) were diverted due to water-logging on a few routes in the city, BMC said. Suburban trains on the Central Line were running late due to flooding in low-lying areas.

"There is a delay of 10 to 15 minutes on the main line between Kurla and Sion due to water-logging in some low-lying spots on this patch," Central Railway's chief spokesperson Sunil Udasi said. The local trains on the Western Line were, however, running as per schedule. "Inspite of heavy rains during night, WR suburban services are running normal," the Western Railway tweeted.

Intermittent rains with some heavy spells are expected in the city and suburbs during the day, the BMC official said. From midnight till 7am on Wednesday, Colaba in south Mumbai received the heaviest rainfall of 166mm, followed by Malabar Hill (164), Grant Road (162), Kalba Devi (152), Bandra (134) and Chembur (102), the BMC said in a statement. "Heavy rains have ensured sufficient water storage in our six reservoirs, which is good news for everyone," the civic official said.

Another IMD official said a system of clouds was moving towards Mumbai from the Arabian Sea on the west coast. "The low-pressure area that is developing will bring more showers to the Mumbai region in next 48 hours," he said.

Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall is likely at many places in neighbouring Raigad district and Ratnagiri in the Konkan region on Wednesday and Thursday, he said. "We are closely observing the cloud conditions. Security forces as well as the National Disaster Response Force and disaster management cells of the respective districts have been informed about it," he added.

-PTI

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