Rains wreak havoc in Mumbai
Over 130 people have been killed in rain-related accidents across Maharashtra and many are missing. Pics
Rains paralysed Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment capital, turning it into a virtual sea on Wednesday, trapping thousands in homes and offices, in stationary cars, buses, trains, railway stations and airports.
In the worst rains in 100 years, over 30 people were killed in the city.
Some 100 people across Maharashtra lost their lives in the partly natural, partly man-made disaster, officials said, as Mumbai underwent a torture unprecedented even by the standards of a city whose streets routinely get flooded every monsoon.
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Even though the rains that began to pour on Tuesday had subsided by Wednesday evening, Mumbai - long seen as the financial centre - simply turned into one large pool, paralysing all forms of traffic including its lifeline: the electric trains.
Road traffic did crawl in a small section of the city, but the rest of Mumbai became a cripple. Many who left their offices Tuesday evening had not reached home more than 24 hours later, a situation that residents described as hell.
Among the worst affected areas were Bandra, Mahim, Matunga, Dadar, Santa Cruz, Byculla, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Mulund, Thane and Badlapur.
"I have lived here for almost 50 years and I have not seen anything like this," said Shanti Narayan, 60, a retired bank employee in Thane on the edge of Mumbai. "My son and daughter-in-law walked for five and a half hours to reach home by midnight, wading through knee deep water.
"We have got no milk today, no newspapers, no shops are open. You can imagine what we are going through," Narayan said, speaking over mobile telephone, which remained one of the few means of communication in a city where landline phone lines gave away under the deluge. "It seems we are living in an island."
Arun Chopra, a corporate executive, left office at 4.30 pm on Tuesday for a 20 km drive to his suburban home in Hiranandani Gardens. He still had not returned even after spending 28 hours in his car along with his driver in inching traffic.
All domestic and international flights to and from Mumbai were cancelled. Stranded passengers hit out at airport authorities for not providing them food and water.
Railway stations became temporary shelters for thousands after train services were cancelled. Road traffic inched bumper to bumper on roads that had became more or less unpassable.
By Wednesday evening some electric trains had begun to run but they could not cope with the magnitude of the crisis. Tens of thousands spent Tuesday night on the streets, many dozing off in crippled buses and train carriages. Some roads had waist-deep water.
"This kind of rainfall is the first in Mumbai's history. It is an unprecedented crisis," admitted Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.
Desperate authorities declared a two-day holiday and asked people to remain indoors as they tried to cope with the unprecedented downpour measuring 950 mm. Prime Minister Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had pledged to make the city a world-class metropolis, is likely to tour the badly hit areas Thursday.
Bridges were washed away, rail tracks submerged, telephone lines hit and large areas suffered power cuts. Rescue teams of the Indian Army and Navy were called in for relief operations.
The weather office warned of continuing rains and strong winds over the next 48 hours even as frantic efforts were on to restore snapped communication links and train and air services.
An aerial view of the city showed waterlogged installations and half submerged buildings besides crawling highway traffic. The government's preliminary assessment suggested damage worth Rs 7-10 billion.
According to officials and reports, over 130 people have been killed in rain-related accidents across Maharashtra. Large numbers were trapped or killed in mudslides. Some were reportedly electrocuted while walking through flooded streets where overhead power lines had collapsed.
Officials said several people were missing in Mumbai. In Marol in Andheri East, nine school children were killed when a wall collapsed.
Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, Shiv Sena MP Anant Geete said the continuous downpour in the state had left a trail of devastation and affected transport and communication links.
"Water entered my house and I had to ask my family to lock up the house and shift to upper floors," Geete said.