Rains disrupt life as nine die in Thane, Mumbai

Heavy rains in Mumbai and adjoining areas today claimed nine lives and disrupted normal life in the city where road, air and rail traffic was disrupted.

With incessant rains continuing to lash the city since last night, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued a high tide alert for today. BMC has put its staff on alert and has deployed lifeguards and firemen at the beaches to avert any untoward incident.

Eight persons were killed and four injured when a wall collapsed on hutments in Thane district following heavy rains. In a separate incident, one person died after a wall collapsed at LBS Marg in Mumbai’s Mulund suburb this morning. The boundary wall erected by a construction company came crashing down on the hutments at Dnyaneshwar Nagar in Thane, trapping over a dozen people. Four injured were rushed to Kaushila hospital in Thane.

According to Thane Municipal Corporation officials, the wall caved in a stretch of 80 feet. The remaining part was demolished to prevent further damage. Residents alleged the company, Dosti Constructions, had recently dumped large quantities of soil on their side of the wall, creating a mound. Heavy rains over the last three days triggered the collapse, they said.

Heavy rains continued to last the metropolis since the last 24 hours, disrupting road, air and rail traffic. The civic body issued an advisory, warning of a high tide of 4.07 metres at 1421 hours and another of 4.70 metres at 1521 hours.

“This year, luckily we do not have a tide of five metres and above like last year. A tide over 4.5 metres is considered as high tide and if it is coupled with heavy rains, will be a matter of concern,” Joint Municipal Commissioner (Disaster Management Cell) S S Shinde told.

The weather bureau forecast heavy rainfall with strong winds and thundershowers in parts of city and suburbs over the next 24 hours. Between June 13 and 17, there will be tides measuring between 4.58 metres and 4.73 metres, the civic body said. Train services on the Western line were running late by 10-15 minutes whereas on the Central line, trains were delayed by 15-20 minutes, railway officials said.

Five flights were diverted, including an Air India flight from Chennai which was diverted to Ahmedabad, airline sources said.