Monsoon hits Mumbai with a vengeance
The metropolis received heavy rainfall on Saturday following the onset of the southwest monsoon.
“Heavy to very heavy rainfall was recorded in the suburbs till 8.30 am,” IMD Deputy Director K S Hosalikar said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday declared the onset of the monsoon over Mumbai, the adjoining Thane-Konkan areas, Ahmednagar, Parbhani and other parts of Maharashtra.
Trains in the suburban section of the Central Railway were late by 10 to 12 minutes due to the downpour, but there was no cancellation of trains, an official said.
“A wall fell on the tracks of down slow line this (Saturday) morning. The debris was removed immediately and for some time, trains on the down slow line were diverted to the fast line,” Sunil Udasi, chief PRO of central railway said, adding this happened during non-peak hours in early morning.
There was nothing to panic and commuters were advised not to fall prey to rumours, he said.
An official said central railway suburban services were delayed because of water-logging on tracks between Matunga and Sion.
According to an airport official, two flights had to be diverted due to bad weather.
In central Mumbai’s Prabhadevi, four people were injured when the slab of a building situated on Veer Savarkar Marg collapsed this morning, a civic official said.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Deputy Municipal Commissioner Kishore Kshirsagar told reporters that areas such as Hindmata, Dharavi and Parel received more than 100mm of rainfall, resulting in water-logging.
He said the civic administration had undertaken road repair works at 120 places, adding that there was no waterlogging on Andheri-Kurla Road, Santacruz, Oberoi Mall and Lokhandwala Circle in the suburban part of the city.
More than 3,000 civic employees wer0e out on the streets monitoring the situation, Kshirsagar said.
In its forecast, the IMD has forecast thundershowers accompanied with gusty winds at many places and heavy rainfall at isolated places, till Sunday.