Thousands of passengers remained stranded for hours at stations between Thane and Panvel of the Central Railway as train movement was hit on water-logged tracks. The Godavari river was flowing above the danger mark in Nashik district. Officials asked people living along the banks of rivers in the Maharashtra to remain alert as water from several dams had been released following heavy rains over the past few days.
Here are the updates:
The India Meteorological Department warns that more heavy showers are expected in the next 24 hours on the upper west coast.
The weather office cautions people, saying heavy rainfall warning on a “very-high-tide day” in the Arabian Sea was “not a good combination“.
Thousands of passengers remained stranded for hours at stations between Thane and Panvel of the Central Railway as train movement was hit on water-logged tracks. The Godavari river was flowing above the danger mark in Nashik district. Officials asked people living along the banks of rivers in the state to remain alert as water from several dams had been released following heavy rains over the past few days.
On August 2, an IMD forecast said several areas along the west coast will continue to receive moderate to heavy rainfall.
People walk on the track near Sion as the suburban train was stopped due to heavy rain, Mumbai, August 3, 2019
Central Railway tweets: " Fast corridor between CSMT and Kalyan also operational from 18.21 hrs. The trains will be running at cautious speed for sometime to clear mid section bunching. Please bear with us."
Heavy rains in Nashik has brought the water level of Godavari river just below the danger mark, with Gangapur and Darna dams 87% and 88% full respectively, an official said.
Water had to be released from Gangapur Dam into the Godavari river and people living along its banks have been alerted, the irrigation department official informed.
He said water had reached the neck of the Dutondya Maruti, a statue of Hanuman on the bed of Godavari river, and just a few feet below the Ram Setu bridge.
“The Nilkanteshwar, Naro Shankar and Yashwantrao Maharaj temples are surrounded by water. Bridges like Victoria and Gadge Maharaj are attracting crowds watching the rising water levels. The district administration is asking them to disperse,” the official said.
A bridge on Godavari river at Saykheda village has been closed to traffic due to rising water levels.
- PTI
Special Buses are running between Wadala Road and Vashi. 12 buses have already left from Wadala.
The BMC has said that as per orders of the Addl. Municipal Commissioner (WS), residing arrangements for stranded passengers at CST, Dadar and Kurla station are made at Manohardas School, Borabazar, near CST Station, Gokhale Municipal School, Bhavani Shankar Road, Dadar (W) and Moreshwar Patankar School, Kurla (W). Refreshments are being provided in these relief camps.
The MMRDA says, "Due to technical glitches, monorail services are temporarily suspended. We apologize for the inconvenience Ticket money is being refunded to all the commuters, who have not performed journey."
Central Railway tweets:
"Services are running between Vashi and Panvel & CMST-Bandra/ Goregaon on Harbour line; CMST-Dadar on Fast corridor not halting at Curry Road, Chinchpokli, Sandhurst Road and Masjid stations. Thane-Kalyan/ Karjat/ Kasara/ Khopoli on main line; Transharbour line and Uran line.
Due to rains coinciding with high tide resulting in back flow of water in Kurla/ Sion/ Chunabhati section, services have been temporarily suspended between Vadala-Vashi on Harbour line and Dadar-Thane on Mainline."
Four college students reported drowned in Kharghar
Navi Mumbai: Four college students are reported to have drowned at a driving range in Kharghar, opposite Pandavkada. The incident happened on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. when the four friends from SIES, Nerul had gone for a picnic. Two bodies have been found and search is on for the recovery of other two bodies.
"The bodies recovered have been identified as Neha Jain and Arti Nayak while search is on for finding Neha Data and Shweta Nandi," senior police inspector Pradeep Tidar from Kharghar police station said.
While there is a ban on entry at Pandavkada waterfalls, the driving range is accessible for all. The girls are believed to have gotten carried away by the gushing water from the hill top.
(Reports Raina Assainar)
Train services on the Central line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway suspended due to water logging on the railway tracks between Kurla and Sion.
Updated forecast by the IMD for Saturday: Extremely heavy rain at isolated places in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Palghar, Nashik, Pune and Satara.
In Palghar district, several villages are marooned as the roads connecting them are flooded.
The gates of the Surya dam were opened releasing the excess water, officials said.
Palghar District Collector Kailas Shinde said the weather department has forecast heavy rains on Saturday and Sunday.
One person was electrocuted as heavy rains battered Thane district, as per PTI reports.
“Eighteen-year-old Santosh Gole, a resident of Dharmaveer Nagar in Thane, was electrocuted when he tried to remove the plug of the refrigerator at his house,” chief of the Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) Santosh Kadam said.
He was taken to Thane Civil hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead, he said.
Another person has suffered serious injuries after the roof of a bakery in Mumbra in Zainy Colony caved in, officials said, adding that he was admitted to a private hospital.
PTI reports that incessant downpour continues in neighbouring Palghar district as well, prompting the authorities to declare a holiday for educational institutions and issue an advisory asking people to stay indoors.
Due to the heavy rainfall overnight in Thane, roads, nullahs and even housing societies were flooded. The gushing water swept away vehicles in some areas.
Schools in Thane have declared a holiday. Buses and autos are not plying on the roads due to flooding, which is inconveniencing commuters, according to officials.
The BMC has declared holiday for private and public schools that may be functioning in second half of the day due to heavy rain forecast by IMD. Citizens have been advised to avoid venturing around sea and water logged areas.
People living along the Mithi river at Kurla's Kranti Nagar area have been evacuated as level of Mithi river rose beyond the 'danger' mark.As per standard practice, if the level goes beyond 3 meters, people are evacuated from this adjoining area.
Today, the level is 3.3 meters. About 1,000 people will be evacuated if necessary.
People living along the Mithi river at Kurla's Kranti Nagar area have been evacuated as level of Mithi river rose beyond the 'danger' mark.
As per standard practice, if the level goes beyond 3 meters, people are evacuated from this adjoining area. Today, the level is 3.3 meters.
About 1,000 people will be evacuated if necessary.
Waterlogging on tracks disrupted the suburban train services to some extent, as locals were running behind schedule by around 15 minutes.
However, flight operations at the Mumbai airport were not impacted due to rains, an airport official said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning of heavy rainfall in Mumbai on Saturday along with a high tide of 4.90 metres at 1.44 p.m. It also said that the weather conditions along the west coast would remain inclement.
The IMD has predicted heavy rainfall in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra. It had on Friday predicted intense heavy rainfall in Mumbai on Saturday and Sunday due to a low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal.
Deputy Director General of Meteorology (IMD Mumbai) K S Hosalikar tweeted intense rainfall is expected in Mumbai, Thane and Navy Mumbai in 24-36 hours.
In view of heavy rain warning and alert issued, the BMC has issued a ‘beach safety appeal’ to citizens.
“We appeal citizens to avoid venturing near sea or walking in water logged areas. In any emergency call us on 1916,” an official said.
As per the fire station-wise rainfall recorded by the BMC in the 24 hours ending 8 am on Saturday, Dindoshi received 50 mm rainfall, followed by Kandivali (41 mm), Malad (36 mm), Chincholi (34 mm), Goregaon (33 mm), Bhandup (31 mm), Borivali (29 mm), Malwani (26 mm), Mulund (20 mm), Vikhroli (11 mm) and Kurla (9 mm).
