A man pushes his bicycle though a flooded street during monsoon rains in Mumbai yesterday.
IANS/Mumbai
Heavy rains continued to batter Mumbai and most parts of Maharashtra for the third consecutive day yesterday, crippling life.
In view of very heavy to extremely heavy rains forecast in the next two days, Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte has advised Mumbaikars to venture outdoors only if absolutely necessary.
Local Cautionary Signal No III has been hoisted at all ports in north coastal Maharashtra. Fishermen have been warned against venturing into the Arabian Sea, which will be very rough accompanied by up to 50kmph strong gusts, the weather office said.
Coastal town Pen, famous for its Lord Ganesh idol industry yesterday recorded a staggering 26cm rainfall, and the downpour continues.
Uran, Dapoli and Mahabaleshwar hill station received 23cm rains, Bhira 22cm, Matheran 21cm and Kolhapur 20cm with no respite from the downpour.
With Mumbai battered by incessant rains since this morning, its lifelines, the railways and road traffic, were severely crippled.
The Central Railway and Harbour Line services were suspended for nearly four hours from 10.35am due to flooding on railway tracks, leading to the cancellation of 340 scheduled services and other running up to 45 minutes late.
Several long-distance trains scheduled to leave Mumbai were delayed by three to six hours while incoming services were terminated mid-way, inconveniencing passengers.
Water entered railway stations at Elphinstone Road, Parel, Sion and Matunga, while the Western Railway services were running 20-30 minutes behind schedules.
Since morning, South Mumbai received 11.94cm rains, eastern suburbs 9.90cm and western suburbs 8.20cm rains, leading to heavy flooding in many areas in the city.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Disaster Control Cell, 65 places in the city reported flooding, hitting normal life.