Heavy rains bring Maharashtra to its knees; air, road, rail services hit

Mumbai received a record rainfall of nearly 300 mm, while a rise in the Mithi river level triggered evacuation of over 1,000 people as the second straight day of downpour on Tuesday severely disrupted road, rail traffic and crippled normal life.

 

A Monorail train, too, came to a halt between Mysore Colony and Bhakti Park stations. Operations were carried out and over 400 passengers were rescued. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said all the passengers inside a Monorail train stuck between two stations in Mumbai will be rescued safely, and an inquiry will be conducted into the incident.

 

Flooded streets, stranded commuters and vehicles struggling to navigate the inundated roads once again highlighted the financial capital’s annual challenge in dealing with the monsoon rains.

 

Fadnavis, who reviewed the flood situation with the disaster management department, said that the next 48 hours would be crucial for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts, which remain on high alert.

 

Commuters faced severe hardship as local train services of the Central Railway were disrupted on its main and harbour lines due to submergence of tracks due to torrential rains, while flight operations, too, were affected. 

 

At least 12 flights were diverted to cities including Ahmedabad, Surat and Hyderabad. 90 arrivals were disrupted resulting in delays, according to data from flight monitoring portal FlightRadar24. Four departures were cancelled and 188 flights were delayed due to reduced visibility at the airport.