Traffic snarls, train delays mark another rainy day

Mumbai remains under an “orange” category weather alert today, as widespread heavy to very heavy rains are expected

Mumbai Heavy rain on Wednesday caused water logging in various parts of south Mumbai and the suburbs which led to another day of traffic snarls and delayed train schedules.

Mumbai remains under an “orange” category weather alert today, as widespread heavy to very heavy rains are expected (Vijay Bate)

Between 8.30am and 5.30pm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 66mm rain at the Santacruz weather station and 49.8mm in Colaba. In the 24-hours ending 8.30am Wednesday, the suburbs received 44.6mm rain, while south Mumbai received 24mm.

Mumbai remains under an “orange” category weather alert today, as widespread heavy to very heavy rains are expected. Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Solapur districts are also under orange alert, while Palghar district is on red alert.

The University of Mumbai announced that all scheduled exams (mainly belonging to the engineering stream) scheduled to be held today stand cancelled on account of the ongoing heavy rain spell. Deputy director (education), Mumbai also issued a circular late on Wednesday asking that schools in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad take a call on remaining open based on local weather conditions.

With occasional strong winds reaching 45-55 kmph, the city on Wednesday also recorded 68 tree fall incidents of which 26 were from the island city, 17 from the eastern suburbs and 25 from the western suburbs. Out of the total tree fall incidents, one was reported in Marine Drive.

Mumbaikars were stuck in traffic jams in many parts of the city on Wednesday morning as traffic police closed the Andheri subway at 9am for an hour due to water level rising above a foot. Civic officials installed additional dewatering pumps in the area. Officials said that till 11am, several jams were seen across the city, including the arterial Western Express Highway (Dahisar towards Kandivali) which extended travel time by more than two hours. However, the Hindmata Junction and Gandhi Market areas were clear of stagnant water as underground tanks installed to abate flooding allowed traffic to move smoothly. Earlier traffic in this route would be diverted even after a short spell of rain.

Matunga resident, Dilip Dubey who drove from King’s Circle to Antop Hill on Wednesday morning said the situation was worse last week. “Even though the rains were heavy, water receded fast on Wednesday.”

Local train services on the Central and Western Railway faced delays of five to 10 minutes, and 10 BrihanMumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses broke down after water entered the buses. Eight buses were repaired by the BEST employees.

On Wednesday, the Modak Sagar lake which is known for supplying water to Mumbai overflowed after reaching its full capacity at around 1.04 pm. The overall water stock in all the seven lakes rose to 56.07% on Wednesday morning, against its overall capacity of 14.3 lakh million litres. Earlier on July 13, 2021, the water stock in the lakes stood at 17.31% while in 2020, it was around 23.43%.

“This same state will continue for the next three days owing to steady favourable synoptic conditions. In south coastal Orissa, the low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal has stayed well marked and the cyclone circulation extends up to 7.6km. East-west shear zone at the middle level of the atmosphere is ideal for this weather condition,” said Jayant Sarkar, deputy director general, western region, IMD.