Life in Mumbai limping back to normalcy

Life in Mumbai was on Wednesday slowly coming back on tracks as rains subsided and hundreds of stranded commuters headed home with the partial resumption of suburban train services, a day after heavy showers brought the city to a halt and left four persons dead.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the intensity of rains over the Mumbai region on Wednesday is expected to be slightly lower than what it was on Tuesday.

However, some isolated areas are likely to receive heavy rainfall, it warned.

Suburban train services, the city’s lifeline depended upon by over 6.5 million commuters partially resumed this morning on all the three lines - Western, Central and Harbour.

On the Central Railway’s Harbour and Main lines, local services were running very slow and getting held up at stations as tracks remain submerged at various points.

Road traffic, which remained paralysed on Tuesday due to waterlogging and high tide, was also back to normal. However, the Maharashtra government offices and educational institutions in the city and adjoining areas remained closed, as declared by the state administration as a precautionary measure last evening.

No substantial rainfall has been reported from any part of the city or outskirts and the morning was bright and skies looked less cloudy.

The Navy has stepped in to provide succour to commuters stranded in the rains by opening community kitchens and food counters at various locations in the megapolis.

However, Mumbai’s famed ‘dabbawalas’ on Wednesday cancelled their delivery of over two lakh tiffins to office goers in the city in view of the disruption of suburban rail services.

Torrential rain, accompanied by strong winds, pummelled Mumbai on Tuesday, disrupting rail, road and air services, uprooting trees, swamping homes, and bringing the megapolis and satellite towns to their knees.

Hundreds of commuters, who were stranded since last evening in various suburban and terminus railway stations, started heading homes as local train services resumed.