MUMBAI: For the fourth straight day, heavy rains pounded Mumbai on Tuesday throwing the suburban railway out of gear and slowing down vehicular traffic on flooded streets even as the Met department issued a warning of heavy rain in the next 24 hours.
Private weather forecasting agency Skymet said the rainfall may exceed 150 mm in the next 24 hours.
Amid the rain scare, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) disaster management unit said no cyclone warning has been issued for Mumbai. Local train services between Vasai and Virar stations have been suspended after heavy overnight rain flooded the tracks, the Western Railways said.
“Service of local (slow) train between Vasai and Virar is suspended until further information,” tweeted divisional railway manager of WR’s Mumbai Division.
Train services between Churchgate and Vasai are delayed but services between Churchgate and Borivili are normal. Central and harbour line services were hit badly hit due to water logging on tracks at Sion and Sandhurst Road station. Suburban services on Central Railway line were running late by up to 30-40 minutes. Trains between Kalyan to Thane have been delayed by 20-30 minutes.
Train services on the harbour line resumed around noon. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the Indian Navy, Disaster Management cell and all concerned departments are working hard to provide assistance to Mumbaikars.
The rain and water logging triggered heavy traffic snarls on the Western Express Highway (WEH), Eastern Express Highway (EEH) and Eastern Freeway. Maharashtra education minister Vinod Tawde ordered schools in Thane and Palghar district to remain closed.
He also instructed school principals in Mumbai to take a call on school closure, gauging the water logging in the adjacent areas.
Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has ordered all schools running in afternoon shift be to be closed while most schools within Thane Zilla Parishad have declared holiday as a precautionary measure.
The Powai lake burst its banks and water gushed on the road connecting Aarey colony, compounding the problem of flooding. On Monday, the Tulsi lake had overflowed.
The rain and water logging also forced Mumbai’s famed dabbawalas to suspend their services in entire city on Tuesday.
“We did not collect the tiffins today, because of the water logging across the city.
Our people find it hard to wade through their cycle in knee deep water,” Mumbai Dabbawalas Association’s spokesperson Subhash Talekar said.
The continuous rain also led to the collapse of two houses in Thane’s Gholai Nager area.
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