Mumbai Heavy downpours battered Mumbai on Saturday, with several parts of the city receiving nearly 200 mm of rains in 12 hours, inundating low-lying areas, triggering road cave-ins, tree falls and house collapses, and disrupting road and rail traffic.
Incessant rains also disrupted normal life in neighbouring Thane, Palghar, Navi Mumbai as well as the Pune region that witnessed landslides, road closures in waterlogged areas and evacuation of people from flooded localities.
The continuous showers, coupled with the India Meteorological Department (IMD)’s extremely heavy rainfall alert, forced the civic body to declare a holiday for schools and colleges in the afternoon.
Water stagnated on tracks, especially between Nalasopara and Virar stations on the Western Railway line, affecting train services. While the railway administration said trains on the route were running 15 to 20 minutes behind schedule, passengers complained that the operations came to a standstill.
Train traffic on other routes – Main and Harbour lines – were also affected.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urged people in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Pune-Nashik belt to strictly follow official weather advisories and avoid unnecessary travel in view of the warning of heavy rainfall and storms till July 6.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the city’s eastern suburbs recorded an average rainfall of 186 mm between 8 am and 8 pm, followed by the western suburbs at 168 mm and the island city at 129 mm.
Vikhroli West in the eastern suburbs recorded over 260 mm of rain in 12 hours, the highest in the city. Powai, Bhandup, Malad, Kandivali, Jogeshwari and Andheri witnessed over 210 mm of rainfall, the BMC said.
Heavy rains, coupled with high tide, led to waterlogging at several locations, and civic teams were deployed to clear the accumulated water, the BMC said. It said 448 dewatering pumps and 19 mini pumping stations were operational, and complaints received at the civic control room were being attended to on priority.
The Andheri subway was closed for vehicular traffic, while the movement of vehicles was also stopped due to submerged roads in Sakinaka, Chandivali and Vile Parle.
Police closed several waterlogged roads, including stretches in Chembur, Andheri and Vikhroli, and advised motorists to avoid the affected areas, the BMC said.
The civic body said 64 incidents of tree falls were reported across the city — 18 in the eastern suburbs and 36 in the western suburbs. No injuries were reported in these incidents.
Eight incidents of house or wall collapse were also reported. At Banewadi in Byculla, a two-storey structure collapsed, injuring two men and one woman. They were admitted to J J Hospital, where their condition was stated to be stable.
In Bhandup’s Sonapur area, a portion of a road caved in near an under-construction site, causing a vehicle to sink into the pit. No casualty was reported.
The BMC said that more than 10,000 officials and employees have been deployed across the city to tackle the situation. It urged citizens to step out only if necessary and stay away from the seafront amid the IMD’s red alert.
The corporation advised citizens to take precautions against leptospirosis, a bacterial disease commonly spread through contaminated floodwater.
Meanwhile, State Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan and Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde visited the BMC’s disaster control room to review the situation, while civic chief Ashwini Bhide monitored the efforts, the release said.
Tawde also visited the Worli promenade and urged people to stay away from the seashore.
Talking to reporters here, CM Fadnavis said the IMD has forecast very heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and rainfall significantly above normal in the affected region till July 6.
“We have requested people to avoid travel if possible so that accidents caused by heavy rain and storms can be prevented. Citizens should follow the official alerts and venture out only in accordance with the advisories,” he said.
Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad accused the BJP-led Maharashtra government of displaying insensitivity towards the monsoon woes of the city’s residents, and targeted local BJP MLA Ameet Satam.
Gaikwad said in a statement that Satam, who heads the city BJP, had “only a smile” on his face despite the rain-related tragedies this week, referring to the death of an 11-year-old boy after a tree collapsed on his school bus and a man drowning in an open manhole.
Satam is facing flak after a viral video showed him smiling while speaking about the two tragedies.
In neighbouring Thane and Palghar, A six-year-old child died after being washed away in floodwaters, heavy rains led to waterlogging in low-lying areas and multiple tree-collapse incidents.
Authorities rescued more than 180 people stranded in waterlogged localities in Palghar.
Between 8 am and 4 pm on Saturday, Palghar taluka recorded an average rainfall of 137 mm, with the PalgharTehsildar office rain gauge clocking 265 mm. The Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation area registered 163 mm of rain during the same period, the officials said.
Meanwhile, Pune witnessed heavy rains on Saturday, resulting in waterlogging on several roads as well as a couple of landslide incidents, though no one was hurt in these, officials said.
Widespread rainfall across the city and the Western Ghats, however, increased inflow into the district’s dam catchments, including that of the vital Khadakwasla dam, they added.
With inputs from PTI