No letup in Mumbai rains; IAF, NDRF rescue villagers

At least five people were killed in Mumbai and Satara as rains continued to batter large parts of Maharashtra yesterday, hitting train services hit badly. Helicopters rescued 73 people in Thane and boats were deployed to rescue around 400 people stranded in Mumbai suburbs, officials said.In the state capital, a woman and her son were killed due to electrocution in Santacruz east and a man was washed away in Dharavi while two men from Pune drowned in a waterfall in Satara after their vehicle hit a barricade and fell into a flooded drain at Babhalnala early yesterday.Following incessant overnight rains, water seeped into many homes in Kranti Nagar, Indira Nagar, Jarimari, Shankarnagar and Bail-bazar areas of Kurla suburb and two teams of the National Disaster Relief Front (NDRF) deployed rubber boats to rescue around 400 residents stranded there.“They have been temporarily shifted to Bazarwad Municipal School and other schools. Congress activists have also made arrangements for food, water and medical help as required,” local legislator and Congress deputy leader in assembly Naseem Khan said.The Indian Air Force deployed an MI-17 helicopter to rescue 58 villagers, including 18 children, from Ju village in neighbouring Thane as they were stranded in rising flood waters.In another operation, 15 marooned villagers were saved by an MI-17 helicopter in Buranda village of Palghar yesterday evening.The operations were conducted after a request by the Maharashtra government, and all the stranded people were shifted to safer locations at the Air Force Station in Thane, and another location in Palghar, said an official.In Church Road-Dahanukarwadi areas of Kandivali, some locals made temporary rafts of wooden boards to ferry people to nearby areas for replenishing stocks of essentials.In some villages in Pen of Raigad district, around 60 people who were stuck in 6ft-deep water since 4am were rescued by NDRF teams in boats.Similarly 40 were saved from the marooned Mori village in Palghar.Most schools and college in Thane, Ratnagiri and Pune have declared a holiday today in view of continuing rains.The Western Railway (WR) services between Vasai and Virar were suspended for several hours as the tracks were flooded. The services resumed after 2.30pm.The Central Railway (CR) services were hit in some sectors like Kurla-Sion due to waterlogging on tracks, breaches in railway lines, and landslides, while its suburban Harbour Line was paralysed.Thousands of passengers were stranded at various stations in Mumbai, Thane and Palghar as train services were disrupted, while hundreds more were stuck in incoming trains that were halted at various locations en route.Similar chaos was witnessed on the Konkan Railway with trains getting delayed, inconveniencing thousands of passengers.Mumbai experienced 4.86m-high tides and the combined effect of the existing waterlogging and continuing rains led to homes in many parts of the suburbs experiencing fresh flooding.A portion of a bridge on Pinjal River in Palghar was washed away yesterday morning, bringing traffic to a complete halt on both sides.For the second consecutive day, waterlogging was reported in many areas of Nala Sopara, Vasai, Virar, Vikramgad (Palghar district), Mira Road, Bhayander, Thane City, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Titwala, Ulhasnagar (Thane), Roha, Pali, Mangaon, Karjat, Pen, Panvel (Raigad), and Mandangad, Chiplun, and Dapoli (Ratnagiri).In Mumbai several vulnerable spots in Dahisar, Borivali, Kandivali, Andheri, Santacruz, Khar, Bandra, Matunga, Parel, Dadar, Kings Circle, Sion, Vikhroli, Ghatkopar, Kurla, Bhandup, Mulund and other parts were flooded. However, there were no traffic snarls since it was a holiday.Subways in Kandivali, Malad, and Andheri were flooded, hampering traffic in the east-west directions.However, most flights were operating at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport with delays of around 30 minutes, officials said.