Heavy torrential rains hit the country’s commercial capital on Monday, throwing life out of gear besides killing two people and injuring seven others following the collapse of one portion of a small hill and a tree falling on an autorickshaw.
Rail tracks got inundated, leading to suspension of suburbans train services — the bustling metro’s lifeline — even as all major roads experienced major traffic snarl. Residents of several buildings have been asked to leave their homes amid reports of water-logging in many pockets of Dadar, Matunga and Parel.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said the debris were being cleared. “Search is on in many places to check if more people are trapped,” said a top official with the civic body’s disaster management department.
As many as 30 people were trapped yesterday inside a Thane resort after torrential rains flooded the area. The department’s officials said all of them have been rescued.
The Met department’s prediction for the next 48 hours isn’t bright: there is a 51 to 75 per cent chance of occurrence of rain and thundershowers in most parts of Mumbai and Thane.
Western Railway said the trains on its sector were running “more or less” on time towards evening, after spells of delays earlier in the day. The trains on central and harbour line of the Mumbai suburban railway system were badly hit, as trains were suspended “for several hours”, according to public relations officer (PRO) Sharat Chandrayan.
Central Railway said the services on its lines resumed by noon, while that along the harbour got functional around 3.20 pm. Trains did begin to run, but were “around 20 minutes late”, said its PRO A K Singh.
Mumbai International Airport reported a 10-minute delay in the arrival and departure of flights.