Monsoon returns with a bang in Maharashtra

Floods and disruptions in road, road and air traffic marked the return of monsoon in Mumbai and its surrounding areas after a month's lull on Tuesday.

The return of monsoon has severely hit the officegoers, school and college students, as well as commuters in Mumbai since Tuesday morning.

The overnight incessant heavy rains hit the Mumbai's lifeline, the suburban trains network on the Western, Central and Harbour lines with disruptions and delays ranging from 10-30 minutes.

The road traffic on the two highways splicing the city vertically (north-south) and arterial roads in the city and suburbs was affected due to waterlogging in several parts, trees falling on roads and overflowing drains.

The Central Railway local services were disrupted on the Thane-CST sector for some time due to 10 inches of flooding near Sion and Wadala, Thane, Matunga, Kings Circle and Kurla stations.

Similarly, on the Western Railway, downpour in adjacent Thane and Palghar districts resulted in flooding on the railway stations, in villages and towns like Bhiwandi, Dahanu, Saphale and surroundings.

The local authorities announced closure of all schools and colleges and made arrangements to shift people to higher locations as their homes were flooded in several villages and towns.

All flights at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport suffered around 15 minutes of delay due to low visibility but there were no cancellations, airport officials said.

Heavy rainfall have been reported in all the coastal districts of Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, besides hinterland like Nashik, Pune and Ahmednagar.