Parts of city waterlogged after the first spell of heavy shower

MUMBAI: The first heavy monsoon showers on Thursday left several parts of the city waterlogged, with the chronic spots in the western suburbs being the worst-hit. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) data shows the city recorded 160.71mm rain of which 74.26mm was reported in the island city, 35.40 mm in the eastern suburbs, and 51.05mm in the western suburbs.

The Andheri subway was closed for traffic from Wednesday night till Thursday afternoon. “Almost all the chronic waterlogging spots in Andheri, Lokhandwala, and Oshiwara got flooded. The water level under the subway was so high that it became risky for the vehicles to pass through,” Dhaval Shah, Andheri resident and founding member of Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen’s Association,

said. Citizens complained of slow traffic movement and water stagnation on S V Road, which connects Bandra with Dahisar. Sudhir Phalke, a resident of Juhu, said owing to the Metro construction work, the condition of road became worse. “Almost the entire road has been dug for Metro works causing the rainwater to stagnate.”

“The Khar subway got submerged on Thursday afternoon. The water level rose to the waist height of a person despite the BMC’S claim of tackling flooding in this area,” Charles Simoes, a local resident, said.

There were also complaints of traffic snarls on the Western Express Highway (WEH).

A BMC official said most of the roads, including WEH, where Metro work is on, are maintained by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority. Interestingly, Hindmata junction did not see waterlogging.