Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and its suburbs on Wednesday, leading to disruption in local train services, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced the onset of the southwest monsoon in Maharashtra.
As forecast by the IMD last week, all parts of Mumbai experienced heavy to very heavy rainfall. The Regional Meteorological Centre has forecast similar weather for the next five days in the coastal parts of Maharashtra, while an orange alert has been issued in Mumbai for the next four days.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Mumbai received 181.01 mm of rainfall in the 12 hours from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday. According to the data, the city area received 137.82 mm of rainfall, while its western and eastern suburbs received 190.78 mm and 214.44 mm of rainfall respectively.
Incessant rain led to water-logging at Hindmata Junction in central Mumbai, King’s Circle, Sion, Andheri subway, Khar subway, BPT Colony, Sardar Hotel Junction, Shanmukhananda Hall area, Nair hospital area, Wadala Library Junction, Mankhurd railway station and a few other low-lying parts of the city. Six incidents of wall collapse were recorded, but no injuries were reported.
197 pumps deployed
As per the BMC, the rainfall’s intensity was the highest between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Nine centres in the city recorded more than 200 mm of rainfall till 3 p.m. P. Velrasu, BMC Additional Municipal Commissioner, said, “Heavy rainfall coincided with the high tide. As a result, water couldn’t be drained through drainage lines. A total of 197 pumps were used between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to drain water.”
The Central Railway suspended local train services on the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Thane main line at 9.55 a.m. owing to flooding in Kurla and other areas. Similarly, train traffic was suspended on the CSMT-Mankhurd Harbour Line after the water level rose above four inches due to heavy rainfall and high tide. Train services on the slow track were restored at 8 p.m.
Passengers are stranded at Sion station after water-logging on tracks led to the suspension of train services between Kurla and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus on Wednesday.
The Railways said it was working in coordination with the BMC to restore services. “High tide at 11.43 a.m. combined with high rainfall led to flooding in the city and on railway tracks. All railway pumps at Chunabhatti, Sion and Kurla are working to pump out water from the tracks,” the Central Railway said. Several long-distance trains were rescheduled. Local train services on all lines were restored by 9 p.m.
Though rainfall subsided after 6 p.m., the IMD announced that heavy to very heavy rainfall was expected over the next five days due to strengthening of westerly winds along the coast due to the presence of a low pressure area over the sea.
CM monitors BMC’s flood mitigation efforts
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday visited the disaster control room of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to monitor its flood mitigation efforts.
Mr. Thackeray also spoke to the control rooms in Mumbai and the Collectors of Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Palghar districts.
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, who visited the inundated Hindmata Junction, along with BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, said, “No one has claimed that there will be no water-logging in Mumbai. Nobody can make such a claim. But if the water does not drain within four hours, only then can we say that the BMC has not done its work properly.”
However, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Ashish Shelar claimed that the BMC’s “cut-commission mode” of functioning had derailed pre-monsoon preparations in the city. “The BMC only makes claims of removing silt from nullahs, culverts, sewers and open drains. But it gets exposed every year. The BMC is involved in corruption of ₹1,000 crore over the last five years in the name of cleaning nullahs,” Mr. Shelar said.
