After long gap, heavy rains return to Mumbai; road, rail traffic hit, low-lying spots flooded

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Heavy rains lashed Mumbai on Thursday evening, affecting road and rail traffic in some parts of the metropolis, civic officials said.

Adjoining Thane was also lashed by heavy showers, leaving several areas water-logged and affecting train services for nearly an hour.

The rains started at around 4:30pm in several parts of Mumbai, with the downpour getting intense between 5pm and 6pm, leading to some spots getting more than 50 millimetres (mm) in the one-hour period, an official said.

“The area under S (civic) Ward received 51 mm rainfall between 5pm and 6pm, while F South ward got 35 mm. The area near the Building Proposal office received 45 mm. The area around Bhandup Complex got 42 mm and Gavanpada in Mulund (East) witnessed 34 mm rainfall,” he said.

Heavy rains saw water accumulating for a brief time at Byculla, Dadar and Sion stations as well as the Diva to Thane stretch, which led to delay in services in the Central Railway’s main line, another official said.

“Main Line (Mumbai CSMT-Kalyan/Karjat/Kasara corridors) local trains were running late by 20 to 55 minutes due to very heavy rain,” Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer, Central Railway (CR), told PTI.

The intensity of showers reduced after 6:30pm, he said, adding suburban trains were running late, but services were not halted.

The problem was compounded by a Kasara-bound goods train from Kalyan uncoupling between Ambivali and Titwala stations at 6:20pm. The problem was rectified and the train resumed its journey at 6:45pm, a CR official said.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials said water-logging was reported at some low-lying spots in the city and suburbs, which slowed down civic-run buses on some routes.

Earlier in the day, the India Meteorological Department had predicted generally cloudy sky with a possibility of light to moderate rain or thundershowers in the next 24 hours.

On Wednesday evening, the metropolis had witnessed rains along with thunder and lightning.

In the 24-hour period till 8 am on Thursday, the island city received 30.96 mm rainfall, while the eastern and western suburbs recorded 32.64 mm and 19.29 mm, respectively, an official had said earlier.

Thane city received 71.12 mm rainfall between 5:30 pm and 6:30pm, inundating several areas and affecting train services in the region for nearly an hour, an official said.

There was no report of any casualty due to the downpour, Thane civic body’s Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) chief Avinash Sawant told PTI.

“Personnel from the RDMC, other civic departments and police were on the ground to tackle the situation. Thane city received 71.12 mm rainfall between 5:30pm and 6:30pm,” he said.

Some nullahs (drains) are overflowing, and water-logging on the tracks at Thane railway station delayed services in the region for about an hour, officials said.

The retention wall of a ‘nullah’ and the compound wall of a housing society in Mahatma Phule Nagar in the city collapsed due to heavy rains at around 7:30 pm, they said.

The retention wall of an adjacent building as well as a part of another structure also subsided and tilted amid rains, they added.