Heavy rains in Mumbai: Holiday for govt. offices, HC adjourns virtual hearings

The Santacruz observatory in western suburbs recorded 254 mm rainfall since Monday night while the Colaba observatory in south Mumbai recorded 220 mm rain during the same period

August 04, 2020 10:30 am | Updated 01:50 pm IST - Mumbai

Local train services were suspended on some routes in Mumbai and suburbs on Tuesday morning due to water-logging on rail tracks following heavy overnight rain in the city. File photo

Local train services were suspended on some routes in Mumbai and suburbs on Tuesday morning due to water-logging on rail tracks following heavy overnight rain in the city. File photo

 

Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and neighbouring Thane district overnight, causing water-logging at several places and affecting local train services and road traffic movement on Tuesday morning, officials said.

The Maharashtra government announced a holiday for all its offices in Mumbai city and suburbs.

The Bombay High Court adjourned its virtual hearings in various cases due to the rains. Five benches of the high court, including a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipankar Datta, adjourned the matters as many staff members could not reach the court in south Mumbai, an official said.

The high court will hear the matters on Wednesday, the official said.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appealed to residents to stay at home and urged commercial establishments, except those providing essential services, to remain closed on Tuesday as heavy rains are likely to continue for next 48 hours.

Suburban train services on the harbour line were stopped in the morning due to water-logging on rail tracks while services on the western and central lines were also affected, a civic official said. Local trains in Mumbai and suburbs are currently being operated only for those involved in essential services in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

A landslide on the Western Express Highway near suburban Kandivali disrupted vehicular movement from western suburbs towards south Mumbai, the official said. A car was stuck in the debris and was later removed.

Traffic movement from Byculla to south Mumbai was also affected due to inundation at some places, he said.

The Santacruz observatory in western suburbs recorded 254 mm rainfall since Monday night while the Colaba observatory in south Mumbai recorded 220 mm rain during the same period, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Mumbai, Deputy Director General K S Hosalikar said.

The weather station at Mahalaxmi recorded 172 mm rain, while that at Vidyavihar reported 159 mm rain. Besides, the weather stations at Ram Mandir (near Goregaon in western suburbs) and Mira Road recorded a rainfall of 152 mm each.

The other weather stations in north Mumbai and Thane also recorded over 150 mm rainfall. The trend would continue for next 48 hours, the official said.

The BMC has deployed high capacity water pumps to discharge water from streets in Byculla, Bhandup and some other areas, a civic official said.

The IMD earlier issued a red alert, predicting extremely heavy rainfall in parts of Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Raigad and Ratnagiri districts in Maharashtra on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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