Heavy rain in Maharashtra, Nagpur turns into 'Venice'

Heavy rain lashed Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra on Tuesday leading to flooding in several cities, including Nagpur, which resembled Venice -- the Italian city known for its maze of canals -- on Tuesday.

The rain had started Monday night and only tapered off by Tuesday evening, an official said.

The state capital Mumbai recorded 10.2 mm of rain and the suburbs saw 15.4 mm in just eight hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday while water-logging was reported in some parts. The rain coincided with one of the high tides of the season - 4.81 metres - on Tuesday at 2.40 p.m. making things worse, an official of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) disaster cell said.

However, some tourists and plucky locals displayed grit and enjoyed the high tidal waves which lashed most of the sea-front areas like Gateway of India, Colaba, Nariman Point, Chowpatty, Shivaji Park, Worli, Mahim, Juhu, Versova, Madh, Marve, Manori and Gorai. The road connecting Worli to the Haji Ali sea mausoleum was submerged under water during the high tide for several hours.

After some initial hiccups and delays, the lifeline of Mumbai -- suburban trains, buses and other modes of public transport -- ran as usual, though the eastern and western express highways were jammed with traffic as it continued to pour in some parts.

In order to combat water-logging, the BMC has deployed 100 heavy duty pumps to flush out water in key areas including some railway stations.

Nagpur in eastern Maharashtra was badly hit as the Nag River swelled after receiving around 100 mm of rain throughout Monday night and Tuesday.

Several main and arterial roads were flooded with up to two-three feet deep water, making the Orange City resemble Venice on Tuesday morning.

Thane (district) towns like Mira Road, Ulhasnagar and Bhiwandi and Palghar (district) towns of Vasai, Virar and Dahanu also received heavy rain leading to flooding in some parts and water-logging in many areas affecting normal life and movement of traffic.

The coastal districts of Konkan were also lashed by heavy rain with Harnai sea town in Raigad and the popular hill resort of Mahabaleshwar in Satara recording 170 mm of rain each.

Heavy rainfall was reported in Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Nashik, Wardha, Nagpur, Chandrapur and other parts of the state, while a minor landslide near the Adoshi Tunnel on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway blocked traffic for a few hours on Tuesday.

The Weather Bureau has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in the entire coastal belt of Maharashtra over the next two days.

--IANS

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