Same old ‘suffernama’ of citizens continues...

Monsoon is finally here, 2 slab collapse cases, a fire

Heavy rains lashed Mumbai on Saturday, disrupting local trains on Central and Harbour lines due to water-logging in low-lying areas. Commuters were distressed as it rained for over three hours continuously, resulting in huge traffic snarls in various pockets of the city. Waterlogging at the usual spots too was reported.

With the onset of the South West monsoon in Mumbai, the woes of citizens continued on Saturday. In fact, the first death due to a pothole was recorded in Thane. A 22-yearold girl, Priyanka Zende riding pillion on her friend’s scooter, which skid and the two were thrown off killing her. A 60-year-old fisherman died after being struck by lightning at the seashore in a small village in the coastal belt of Uttan near Bhayandar early on Saturday morning.

Six others were also injured due to lightning which struck the region amidst thunderstorm. The trains on Central Railways were delayed by 20 minutes, Harbour line trains were delayed by 10 minutes and Western Railways by 20 minutes. Railway tracks were flooded at Kurla, Sion, Wadala, and Sandhurst Road leading to a delay in train services.

Commuters waiting for trains at Sion station said it is the same old story every year. “Railway authorities have failed to provide any concrete solution to solve our woes. In just two days rainfall, there has been flooding on the tracks. It is pathetic that the authorities do not learn any lessons,” said Babu Kharat, a youth who had started his daily journey to CSMT. On the third consecutive day, flight services too were disrupted due to prevailing weather conditions. “Flights have been delayed but not cancelled. Two flights arriving at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai were diverted due to inclement weather conditions in the city,” said an official. Meanwhile, two building collapses and a fire incident was reported in the city. A major fire broke out in Kothari building opposite Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) station early on Saturday and a part of it collapsed, injuring two firemen. One more incident of slab collapse was reported in Prabhadevi where three people sustained minor injuries and are now stable.There were reports of waterlogging at Hindmata, Lalbaug, GTB Nagar, Sion, Prateeksha Nagar, King’s Circle, Sardar hotel junction at Kalachowkie, Byculla, Mulund, and a few low-lying areas in Parel, Worli and Dadar. In fact, Byculla police station was also flooded. Locals from Hindmata area were livid as they feel it is time civic officials stopped ignoring other parts of the city. “We too are tax-paying citizens, it’s not just Malabar Hill and Cuffe Parade residents who pay them. Every year, the civic body wakes up only when it rains and our areas get water-logged. It seems civic officials and our government is not bothered as to what happens to our lives,” said one of the locals.

Due to flooding, road traffic was impacted and there were snarls at many junctions, primarily at Haji Ali, Sion, Hindmata and Andheri Subway. A car overturned at Lower Parel so police uploaded its photograph and issued an advisory requesting citizens to exercise extra caution on slippery roads. “Please decrease the speed of the car while driving in rain as its consequences were seen this morning at Lower Parel! Thankfully no casualties were reported. Decrease speed, increase cautiousness #MumbaiRains #RoadSafety.” Speaking to media after assessing the extent of impact, a civic official assured that there will be fewer water-logged areas and pumps will be operational during heavy rains. On Saturday, 64 pumps were operational, out of 298. “The others were not used, since there was no water-logging in those areas, apart from the ones reported,” said Kishore Kshirsagar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner. Kshirsagar, alerted citizens and said that in case of heavy flooding, people can stay at shelter schools, which have been kept ready for this purpose. The Navy too will be on stand-by in parts of the city where it is known to flood every year.