After a dry spell of over a month, the monsoon finally made its presence felt in the city on Wednesday, as heavy rains disrupted the road and rail services.
According to the data received from the Regional Meteorological Centre, Mumbai, the suburban Santacruz weather station recorded rainfall of 104 mm between 10 AM to 2 PM on Wednesday.
City’s lifeline, the suburban rail line was the worst affected. The Central Railway (CR) had to cancel 40 suburban train services on the Harbour Line and 30 on the main line during the peak time, causing inconvenience to office-goers. On an average, the local trains were running almost 20-25 minutes late throughout the day.
“I had to get down at Mankhurd railway station to reach my office in Lower Parel via-road. The cancellation of train services means that the administration was not prepared for the monsoon, despite its delay,” said Abhishek Kumar, a resident of Panvel.
According to the statement issued by the CR, the trains were delayed due to water logging on Kurla, Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Bhandup stations at the main line and Govandi, Chunabhatti on the harbour line.
As the commuters hit the road following of the cancellation of train services to reach their destinations, the traffic jams were caused on the Sion-Panvel highway and on the Eastern Express Highway.
Areas such as Parel, Ghatkopar and some parts of Dadar faced water logging on roads as a result the traffic was moving very slowly. The traffic was also slowed down on Western Express highway. However, the Metro and the Monorail in the city faced no disturbances due to the heavy rains.
The Mumbai Municipality has recorded the 33 instances of tree falling in the suburban Mumbai, while it received the complaints of water logging from 121 spots.
According to data available with the IMD, the Colaba weather station in the city had received only 57.2 mm rainfall in June, while the suburban Santacruz had received 88.9 mm. This rainfall is second lowest that the city has ever received in the month of June since 1951.
“Low pressure formed at the Bay of Bengal has resulted in the rainfall. Similar rain showers are expected in next two days in the city,” said V. K. Rajeev, Director, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Mumbai.
