Heavy downpour brings Mumbai to a standstill: transport disrupted, schools shut, woman dies

Mumbai: Incessant showers lashed Mumbai and its neighbouring areas, disrupting suburban train services and flight operations, throwing normal life out of gear. An elderly woman tragically died due to burn injuries caused by a short-circuit as residents navigated water-logged streets and faced severe traffic disruptions on Monday.

Several areas in Mumbai received over 300 mm of rainfall within six hours ending at 7 am, leading to flooding on roads and in low-lying areas.

Continuous heavy rains throughout the day compounded the woes of residents, leading to the closure of schools. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a 'red' alert for Mumbai for Tuesday, predicting further heavy showers.

Central Railway services were significantly disrupted due to rain-induced waterlogging, despite the installation of high-capacity pumps in low-lying areas. Thousands of passengers faced inconvenience as local trains were halted on the tracks for hours. Many out-station trains bound for Mumbai were also stranded.

After an earlier resumption, Harbour Line services of Central Railway were suspended again on a stretch on Monday night due to waterlogging on the tracks.

Flight services at Mumbai airport were severely affected due to low visibility from the heavy rains. Runway operations were shut for over an hour, resulting in approximately 50 flight cancellations. Of these, 42 were operated by IndiGo and six by Air India.

"Fifty flights have been cancelled till 11 am on Monday at the Mumbai airport due to low visibility and heavy rains. Of these, IndiGo had to cancel 42 flights, including 20 departing ones, while six flights of Air India including three arrivals were cancelled," a source said.

Government-owned Alliance Air also cancelled two flights (one departure and one arrival) on Monday, the source added.

Schools and junior colleges in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Panvel, Pune, as well as rural parts of Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, will remain closed on Tuesday due to a heavy rainfall alert issued by the IMD, an official said.

The weather office has issued a red alert for Mumbai, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Satara, Pune, and Sindhudurg districts, and an orange alert for Thane and Palghar on Tuesday (July 9).

Due to waterlogging at Wadala station, services between Wadala and CSMT were suspended at 10:15pm, while trains were operational between Mankhurd and Panvel on the route, a CR spokesperson said.

Tracks between Dadar-Matunga Road on Western Railway were submerged around 10 pm, while on Central Railway the tracks were under water at Dadar and Vidyavihar on the Main line and at Wadala on Harbour line, sources said.

Western Railway's fast corridor was also affected due to waterlogging and a track-changing point failure on the fifth line near Matunga station late in the evening, they added.

"There is water on the tracks, but it has not affected the running of trains. The trains on the fast corridor halted due to a point failure on the fifth line and efforts were on to clamp it," a WR spokesperson said.

The rains also affected BEST bus services, with many rerouted to avoid waterlogging in areas like Parel, Gandhi Market, Sangam Nagar, and Malad subway.

Earlier in the day, Central Railways' Main line services were badly hit before 1:15 pm, while Western Railways' suburban services were running 10 minutes late.

During the evening rush hours, BEST diverted its bus services via alternate routes due to waterlogging in low-lying areas at Parel, Gandhi Market, Sangam Nagar, and Malad subway.

Mumbai's island city received an average of 47.93 mm of rainfall in the 10-hour period ending at 6 pm, while the figure was 18.82 mm and 31.74 mm for the eastern and western parts of the metropolis, respectively.

"In the 24 hours ending at 8 am, Mumbai's island city recorded an average rain of 115.63 mm, Eastern Mumbai 168.68 mm and Western Mumbai 165.93 mm rainfall. The city reported 40 incidents of tree or branch fall, but there was no report of any death. Some vehicles suffered damage," a civic official said.

"The city reported 12 incidents of short-circuit, which claimed the life of a 72-year-old woman at Santacruz East. The lady sustained burn injuries in a fire triggered due to a short-circuit in a room of Haji Siddhiki Chawl on Datta Mandir Road.

Mumbai also witnessed 10 incidents of house or wall collapse since morning, but there was no report of any fatality in the incidents," he added.

Both houses of the Maharashtra legislature were adjourned as many members and officials could not reach the Vidhan Bhavan due to the downpour.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde took stock of the heavy rain situation by chairing a meeting at the Mantralaya and visiting the control room of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

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. PTI