Heavy rains lash Mumbai, city struggles to stay afloat

After a lull, the city witnessed its first heavy downpour on Monday. But, along with it came misery in the form of traffic jams, waterlogging, trees falling, landslide, HT reports. Tansa overflows | Facebook, Twitter flooded as thousands offer help| No-shows double at Mumbai airport

After a lull, the city witnessed its first heavy downpour on Monday.

But, along with it came misery in the form of traffic jams, waterlogging, trees falling, landslide —the list was long.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which has 35 automatic weather stations across the city, Mumbai received an average rainfall of 134mm across the city, with the eastern suburbs receiving the most rain (157.4mm), followed by the western suburbs (143.9mm) from 8am to 8pm.

The wettest area in the city was Goregaon which received 207.8mm rain.

The BMC’s disaster management cell said it had sent asked the fire department, the National Disaster Response Force as well as the Navy to be on standby.

Most major roads in the city were partly inundated with water, vehicles caught in jams resembling a maze, horns blaring with little or no presence of traffic policemen.

Waterlogged tracks meant trains were delayed by anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour.

Those who decided to take the road were stuck in never-ending jams.

Vivek Narayanan, 24, an advertising professional working in Santacruz (East), had to return to his office.

“I left office around 8pm to take a train to Vasai. I waited in the traffic for about 30 minutes and then just went back.”

Two abandoned BEST buses were partly submerged outside Gandhi Market, adding to the chaos on the road.

Among the places waterlogged were the usual suspects — Hindmata junctions in Dadar, parts of Parel, Byculla in the island city, while the western suburbs saw busy areas such as Malad, parts of Goregaon, Andheri and Bandra waterlogged.

A student struggles to move through a waterlogged road following heavy rains in Mumbai. (PTI Photo)

The eastern suburbs were no better, with waterlogging being reported in Kurla, Bhandup, Mulund and Govandi.

“There was water inside my SUV, which forced me to get out of the car and walk home. I went to my parent’s house. The rain reminded me of July 26, 2005,” said Alka Deshpande, a Santacruz resident.

Commuters wade through a flooded street during monsoon rains in Mumbai. (HT Photo/Vijayanand Gupta)

The Hindmata flyover also saw vehicles moving at snail pace. Both King Circle and Sion came under water. Gandhi Market, a perennial flooding spot, was most affected.

“We had to walk in water up to the waist,” said resident Naresh Shetty.

Citizens also forced to deal with auto and taxi drivers, who refused to ply. Malad-based teacher Adelle Almeida said, “The bus I took from Andheri to Malad was very crowded. I was stuck in traffic for 45 minutes.”

Four landslides were reported in the city — Chunabhatti, Santacruz, Bandra and Govandi — which left six injured. A person died after being electrocuted in Ghatkopar’s Amrut Nagar.