HEAVY RAINS pounded Mumbai and adjoining areas, severely affecting the Central Railway’s suburban services due to waterlogging on tracks and also hit the airport operations leading to 50 flight cancellations on Monday. The rain mayhem led to inundation of many low-lying areas in the city, impacting vehicular movement, and people were seen wading through flooded streets.

 

The State Government declared a holiday for all schools in Mumbai, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. Both Houses of the Maharashtra legislature were adjourned as many members and officials could not reach the Vidhan Bhawan due to the downpour. Some areas in Mumbai received more than 300 mm of rainfall in just six hours ending at 7 am, causing inundation of roads and low-lying areas. Heavy rains also lashed the city throughout the day, further compounding the woes of residents. Maharashtra Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation and Disaster Management Anil Patil and NCP MLC Amol Mitkari alighted from the Howrah-Mumbai train and walked on tracks for some distance, a video of which went viral. “The train was stuck up for about two hours.

 

We got down on the tracks between Dadar and Kurla stations. I walked around 2 to 2.5 km, including on railway tracks, and reached Nehru Nagar police station,” Mitkari said, adding some legislators were also stuck in the same train. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde took stock of the heavy rain situation by chairing a meeting at the Mantralaya and visiting the control room of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The civic body said there was be a high tide of 4.40 meters in Mumbai at 1.57 pm.