83 per cent of average September rain in 24 hours stumps city

A family waits helplessly at Chunabhatti railway station even as the tracks are completely submerged. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

As heavy rain lashed the city and suburbs, the civic body appealed to people to stay home on Wednesday, but a number of Mumbaikars, essential category workers, stepped out, only to face the usual barrage of problems. Public transport was affected and there was waterlogging across the city, with the civic body blaming the excessive rain for everything.

Arun Kejriwal travelled from Kandivli to Andheri to donate blood. "There was a lot of traffic due to water-logging. I started in the afternoon when the rain had just begun after a break. I will face a struggle in the return journey as waterlogging has begun."

People and vehicles try to navigate a small lake formed on LBS Road between Kurla and Ghatkopar. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Residents of Matunga were shocked to see water upto 1 feet high on the road when there was no rain. "I woke up at 6am. There was waterlogging everywhere. It stayed for four hours, even as there was no rain," said Nikhil Desai, civic activist from the locality.

"This spot has always seen such waterlogging and today the same happened," said Abhishek Ghosalkar, former corporator from the locality.

Also Read: Mumbai Rains: Heavy rains disrupt local services, public transport update at a glance

A man tries to wade through almost chest-deep water near Shanmukhananda Hall in King's Circle. Pic/Sameer Markande

Around 50 people living in Kranti Nagar, Kurla, on the banks of the Mithi river, had to be evacuated due to rising waters. Many people to Twitter to not only express their anguish but also to appeal to look out for others. Twitter user Samiya (@sarcassam_ ) appealed to people to allow stray dogs to sleep inside the building.

Vishal Rathod ( @travelindiablog) tweeted a video of his house in two feet water at Siddharth Nagar in Goregaon, saying, "Total barbaad this time."

Floodwaters completely cover the tracks between Kurla and Sion. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

'Waterlogging at new locations'

Western Railway officials said that there was waterlogging at some new locations apart from the regular ones. It included the stretches from Grant Road to Charni Road, Lower Parel to Prabhadevi, Mahalaxmi to Mumbai Central, Dadar to Matunga and Matunga to Mahim. Around 4:45 pm, WR suburban special services were fully restored between Churchgate and Bandra on the slow corridor.

Central Railway officials said while suburban services were badly affected, outstation were rescheduled and short-terminated. "Due to heavy rainfall and waterlogging in Sion-Kurla and Chunabhatti-Kurla, traffic was suspended on the CSMT-Thane and CSMT-Vashi sections," a spokesperson said.

Stranded commuters desperately try to get into a train that arrives after a long time at Borivli railway station. Pic/Satej Shinde

BEST public relations officer Manoj Varade said 30 buses were stuck due to waterlogging. Officials said that over 100 routes had to be diverted and many were cancelled.

'Rain and high tide together'

"The reason for water logging is 83 per cent of the total rainfall of September happened in 16 hours," said Iqbal Singh Chahal, municipal commissioner. "Many parts of the city received more than 200 mm rain. The water built up and high tide coincided," said P Velarasu, additional commissioner of the BMC.

Moderate rain today

As per the IMD, Santacruz received 286.4 mm rain in the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Wednesday. More than 300 mm rainfall was seen in September 1981, 1991 and 2017. The IMD forecast for Mumbai is light to moderate rain on Thursday.

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