Heavy rainfall in Thane, Kalyan, Navi Mumbai; central line trains delayed
Water-logging, tree falls, rising river levels reported as heavy rains lash Mumbai Metropolitan Region; relatively less rain in Mumbai city.
While Mumbai city has been experiencing bouts of heavy rainfall, incessant downpour in the surrounding areas of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) since Friday night led to water-logging in several localities in Thane, Kalyan, Dombivli, Badlapur and Navi Mumbai, and train delays on the central line.
TRAINS DELAYED
Train services between Badlapur and Kalyan stations on the Central Railway (CR) were disrupted in the morning because of water-logging. “Due to heavy rainfall and low visibility, services between Badlapur and Kalyan were affected. Water-logging on rail tracks between Vitthalwadi and Kalyan stations resulted in the suspension of services in the morning, but they resumed at 11.30am,” a CR official said.
“All services on CR are now running with some delay,” said Sunil Udasi, chief public relations officer, CR.
Railway officials said water-logging between Chowk and Karjat stations also led to some outstation trains being diverted to the Karjat-Kalyan route instead of Karjat-Panvel.
THANE AND BEYOND
The water in Ulhas river rose to warning levels on Saturday morning, the Thane district irrigation department said. By 9am, water levels in two of the major weirs in Ulhas river had touched warning levels. “If heavy rainfall continues, water levels may reach the danger mark,” said Umesh Chandra Pawar, executive engineer, irrigation department.
“We have received a message from the irrigation department that water levels of Ulhas river and Badlapur dam have touched warning levels. The civic disaster management team is on alert, if there is a need,” said an officer from Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), who did not wish to be named.
It’s been raining heavily in the Kalyan-Dombivli region since Friday night, and several localities have got water-logged. So far, five tree fall incidents have been reported. Water-logging was reported near Patripool bridge and near Kamladevi college in Khadegolivali in Kalyan (east), at the station road, Shivaji Chowk and Mohammad Ali Chowk in Kalyan (west), on the Kalyan- Badlapur highway, and in Milap Nagar and Sudarshan Nagar in Dombivli.
Thane has received 42 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours, and there’s water-logging and traffic congestion in Majiwada, Ghodbunder and Teen Haath Naka.
Traffic on the Kalyan-Murbad-Ahmednagar route was closed on Saturday morning after water levels of a river in Kishor village rose and flooded the road. “This particular route has been closed to traffic due to heavy rainfall since Friday night. We have deployed traffic cops to divert vehicles on this route,” said a traffic police officer from Kalyan, requesting anonymity.
WATER-LOGGING, JAMS IN NAVI MUMBAI
In Navi Mumbai, water-logging was reported in several areas, and there was severe traffic jam on the busy Sion-Panvel highway. Work at the Navi Mumbai airport site also had to be halted after the area flooded.
Between 8.30am and 12.30pm on Saturday, Navi Mumbai received 30.15mm of rainfall.
There was water-logging near Vashi station, sector 9 in Vashi, APMC market, Kalamboli section of Sion-Panvel highway, and the service road of Palm Beach road near TS Chanakya, among other places.
Meanwhile, the Gadeshwar river started overflowing, and has cut off Umroli village in Panvel’s Nere area from the rest of the region.