Downpour in Thane leads to tree fall and traffic snarls

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that the onset of monsoon is expected in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) over the next 48 hours

Thane experienced heavy downpour on Monday afternoon, ending its recent dry spell and causing traffic snarls at major junctions in the city.

A tree fell inside Kamgar Hospital’s premises at Wagle Estate and damaged four bikes. (Praful Gangurde/HT)

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that the onset of monsoon is expected in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) over the next 48 hours.

On Monday, Thane received 25.14mm rain, taking the total rainfall in this season in the city to 288.22mm. The downpour continued for 40 minutes, between 12.30pm to 1pm.

One tree fell inside Kamgar Hospital’s premises at Wagle Estate. “The tree fell on four two-wheelers, damaging them. No one was injured in this incident. We sent a team and immediately removed the tree,” said an official from the Regional Disaster Management Cell.

Areas such as Thane station, Naupada, Teen Haat Naka and other junctions saw traffic congestion during the downpour. “Traffic jam near Naupada was immediately cleared by the traffic team,” said a traffic official. However, locals reported slow traffic movement.

“There was traffic congestion between Naupada and Teen Haat Naka. It took me around 20 minutes to cross the stretch which usually takes only five minutes by bike,” said Siddhant Shastri, a resident of Naupada.