 "First heavy rains of season hit trains and bus services in Mumbai")
Trains and bus services in Mumbai were badly hit on Thursday evening as heavy rains lashed the city. Water-logging was witnessed in several low-lying areas due to the first heavy downpour of the season, civic officials said. Road traffic either slowed down or stopped as several roads were waterlogged in areas like Hindmata, Parel, Kalachowki, Haji Ali, Dockyard Road, Gandhi Market and Bandra.
The movement of local trains, Mumbai's lifeline, was also affected due to waterlogging on tracks, especially between Kurla to Parel section on the Central Railway line and due to some technical glitches on the Western Railway route. Technical glitches brought the DOWN slow line traffic to a standstill for more than one and a half hours after 9.30 pm. "Due to some technical issues in track points at Dadar and Parel stations, slow line trains b/w CSMT- Kurla section are getting delayed. The issue is expected to be resolved in next 15-20 mins," Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer of Central Railway, said. A commuter said his train was held up on the slow track at Curry Road station for more than one hour, and several people got down and walked through the tracks. Due to the heavy flow of water and flooding, the civic body BMC shut the Andheri subway in the Western suburbs for traffic.
People were seen wading through knee-deep water at several locations and scores of motorists were stuck in traffic snarls for hours. "#Plaza area totally jammed. Stuck since 1 hour. Needs immediate intervention," tweeted one Dr Shashikant Singh, tagging Mumbai Traffic Police and others.
"All money gone down the drain. #Kingscircle, #GandhiMarket #Matunga flooded as always during #MumbaiRains. Nothing seems to work here. The Holding Tanks, the pumps, bigger drains..Seems the Only time it won't flood, will be when if doesn't Rain," a citizen tweeted.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert warning of heavy to very heavy showers at isolated places in the city and neighbouring districts for the next 24 hours. The weather department has also issued a yellow alert, predicting heavy rains at a few places in the city on July 1 and 2, an official said. The IMD Mumbai has forecast moderate to heavy rains with the possibility of "occasional intense spells" at isolated places in the city for 24 hours from Friday morning. Amid incessant rainfall in the city, two incidents of building collapse were reported at Kalbadevi and Sion areas. But there were no casualties and people were evacuated safely from the affected structures, officials said. As per official data, the island city received 119.09 mm rain, followed by western suburbs with 78.69 mm and eastern suburbs with 58.40 mm rainfall over a 12-hour period from 8 am till 8 pm. Prior to 8 am, the island city, western suburbs and eastern parts had received 36.72 mm, 45.75 mm and 41.47 mm rainfall respectively in 24 hours. According to a BMC report, Colaba and Santacruz had reported 361.8 mm and 291.8 mm rainfall till Wednesday. Mumbai had received just 11.72 per cent rainfall till June 29, of 2,472 mm average annual rainfall, the report stated.