Agencies
Mumbai




Monsoon rains brought Mumbai to a standstill, stalling trains, delaying flights and disrupting traffic yesterday, and forecasters warned of more wet weather for India’s financial capital.
Authorities advised people to stay indoors and asked schools and colleges to close for the day.
“Those living near the Mithi river have been evacuated to safer places, but there are no reports of any harm or casualties so far,” a police spokesperson said, referring to the city’s main river.
Flights were delayed or cancelled at Mumbai airport, one of the busiest in the country, and trains carrying thousands of commuters to work were halted on many routes, authorities said on Twitter.
“It took me three hours to cover a distance that usually takes less than an hour,” Vishwanath Acharya, an executive who works in the city, said.
In the past 36 hours, the India Meteorological Department said Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts averaged a whopping 25-30cm rains, while the Vasai-Virar belt in Palghar got a staggering 50cm rains.
The IMD has issued a ‘Red Alert’ for Mumbai and surrounding districts which could be lashed by very heavy rains over the next two-three days.
Yesterday afternoon, the National Disaster Response Force, the Indian Navy and the Mumbai Police came to the rescue of around 1,500 people stranded in the flood waters the Mithi river which overflowed and entered their homes in Krantinagar area of Kurla.
According to sources, around 20 flights were cancelled and 280 affected by delays.
Though the city’s lifelines – Western Railway and Central Railway – continued to function with hiccups, by noon, local and long-distance services were suspended due to heavy waterlogging on railway tracks.
Trains were suspended for several hours between Churchgate-Andheri and Vasai-Virar due to waterlogging near Mahim-Matunga.
However, by 6pm, the trains were restored between Churchgate-Vasai, though tracks on the Vasai-Virar sector were still submerged.
Total chaos reigned on the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) and Western Express Highway (WEH), main roads and arterial roads. Waterlogging was reported in many areas like Mulund, Bhandup, Vikhroli, Ghatkopar, Kurla, Sion, Kings Circle, Wadala, Chunabhatti, Bandra, Santacruz, Vile Parle, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Malad, Kandivali, Borivali and Dahisar.
Many low-lying areas including Sion, Wadala, Dadar, Parel, Kings Circle, Matunga, Chunabhatti, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Santacruz, Malad, Borivali, Mulund, Bhandup, Kanjurmarg, Vikhroli, Kurla and surroundings were flooded.
In many areas the water entered people’s homes on the ground floor.
Several key roads including the Mumbai-Goa Highway, Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Ghodbunder Road, Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway and Mumbai-Navi Mumbai Road also experienced huge traffic snarls.
Vehicles were stranded in the flood waters forcing their occupants to abandon them, which added to the traffic jams.
People waded through waist-deep waters, while in Ganesh Talao area of Kandivali, locals deployed a make-shift raft to ferry people in the flooded areas.
Mumbai has been hit by heavier-than usual rain this monsoon, affecting the city’s crumbling infrastructure.
Social media users posted videos of submerged streets and people wading through them.
Floods in 2005 killed more than 500 people in the city, home to the country’s two biggest stock exchanges and headquarters of several major companies.