Heavy rains hit road, rail traffic in Mumbai

Heavy monsoon showers since yesterday night hit normal life in the western metropolis of Mumbai on Friday.

Zee Media Bureau/Ajith Vijay Kumar

Mumbai: Heavy monsoon showers since yesterday night hit normal life in the western metropolis of Mumbai on Friday.

Local train services across the city and its suburbs were hit. The Harbour line was the hardest hit with trains running around 25-30 minutes late. Central line fared no better with an average delay of over 25 minutes; the situation on the Western line was marginally better.

"There is waterlogging on tracks in areas like Kurla, Chunabhatti, Bhandup, Dockyard and Sion, which is affecting the services of trains. Trains on the Central and Harbour lines are running late by about 25-30 minutes," a senior railway official said.
Many arterial roads witnessed waterlogging with commuters facing a tough time in areas like King Circle, Hindmata, Colaba and Kurla.

As per the Met dept, Colaba has recorded 101 mm rains while the figure stood at 47.8 mm in Sanatcruz.

"There is water logging in low lying areas like Dadar, Parel, Sion, Kurla, Ghatkopar and the Western Express Highway which has caused severe disruptions in vehicular traffic along the stretches. The MCGM is trying to pump out water from these areas so that the situation can be normalised," a senior official of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) told PTI.

He said 128 pumps had been pressed into service till 10:30 am to clear water out of the streets and that the civic body plans to install pumps in more areas if the downpour continues.

"There was a high tide in the city until noon and water will now start to recede. Another high tide is expected after 5:30 pm, when waves up to 3.96 metres are likely to lash the city," he added.

The Met dept has predicted heavy rainfall over the next 48 hours for the city.
"Typhoon Neoguri that was active in the Pacific region over the last few days crossed Japan yesterday. The typhoon was pulling away moisture which decreased the intensity of rainfall here. The outshore trough now developed here has activated monsoon in Maharashtra and parts of Konkan region," said V K Rajeev, Director General, Regional Meteorological Centre, Mumbai.

The moisture that has developed along the coastline of Mumbai will ensure that the city receives strong rainfall for the next 2-3 days, he said.

"There has been a revival of monsoon. We are expecting heavy rains for the next 48 hours not only in Mumbai, but in the entire Konkan region," Rajeev stated further.

Zee News App: Read latest news of India and world, bollywood news, business updates, cricket scores, etc. Download the Zee news app now to keep up with daily breaking news and live news event coverage.