Heavy rains, water-logging mark arrival of monsoon in Mumbai

Mumbai: Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and its suburbs on Wednesday, causing flooding on roads and rail tracks and disrupting suburban train services as the south-west monsoon arrived in the city with a bang, while the MeT department issued an alert for more downpour.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a 'red alert' for Mumbai, and neighbouring Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts, warning of very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places there.

The first rains of this year's monsoon season in Mumbai caused water-logging in various parts of the city, prompting the traffic police to shut four subways and forcing motorists to abandon their vehicles on roads.

The heavy downpour also disrupted local train services, which are running only for personnel engaged in health and other essential services, and are out of bound for general commuters in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While there were fewer vehicles on the city roads amid the downpour, motorcyclists and other two-wheeler riders were unable to manoeuvre their vehicles at some of the flooded places. The traffic police closed Milan, Khar, Andheri and Malad subways for motorists due to water-logging at these places.

"We have closed the subways due to water-logging of up to two feet at these junctions. However, traffic is smooth on the SV Road, Linking Road and the Western Express Highway. So far, no traffic congestion has been reported," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Western Suburbs, Somnath Gharge said.

Heavy rains caused low visibility and increased the risk of accidents, hence the traffic police personnel are on roads to prevent such incidents, the official said.

Cranes were used to clear roads on which motorists had abandoned their vehicles due to water-logging, he added.

The city police appealed to Mumbaikars not to step out of their homes unnecessarily and cautioned them against travelling to some of the inundated areas.

Mumbai and its suburbs experienced thunderstorms along with moderate to intense spells of rainfall during the day, it added. Suburban train services from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji MaharajTerminus (CSMT) to neighbouring Thane and Vashi in Navi Mumbai were suspended due to water-logging on tracks, officials said.

Routes of some BEST buses, run by the city civic body's transport wing, were diverted to avoid flooded streets, they said.

According to the IMD, the western suburb of Santacruz recorded 164.8 mm rain in six hours from 8.30 am to 2.30 pm, while Colaba in south Mumbai) recorded 32.2 mm rain during the same period.

"It's monsoon arrival in Mumbai today," Dr Jayanta Sarkar, head of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) Mumbai office, said in the morning. The IMD said conditions are favourable for onset of the monsoon in remaining parts of Maharashtra in next two to three days.

"GOOD NEWS. Onset of SW Monsoon declared over Mumbai Thane Palghar today 9th June. Monsoon line today passing frm Valsad(Gujarat), Nagpur in Maharashtra & then Bhadrachalam Tuni..Conditions r favourable for onset of monsoon in remaining parts of Maharashtra in nxt 2,3 days," the IMD's head SID, Climate Research & Services at Pune, K S Hosalikar, tweeted.

There was inundation at several places in the city, including on tracks

near Sion and Chunabhatti stations on the Central Railway (CR) route.

The local train services were initially suspended on the CR's main line between CSMT and Kurla from 9.50 am. Later, the train services were suspended between CSMT and Thane (main line), and between CSMT and Vashi (Harbour line) from 10.20 am, CR's chief spokesperson Shivaji Sutar said.

"However, services on the Trans-Harbour line and BSU (Uran in adjoining Raigad district) lines are running smoothly. Also, shuttle services from Thane to Karjat/Kasara and Vashi-Panvel are operational," he said.

There was no disruption on the Western Railway route and its local train services were running normal, WR's chief spokesperson Sumit Thakur said.