Sahar Airport under water, cargo unit faces the brunt

The flooded cargo complex on Saturday morning

The airport cargo complex area of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Sahar was left flooded after Friday's downpour, even as water started seeping through the T2 ceiling.

According to sources within the airport, "A few flights were diverted, leading to some chaos at the vertical terminal building - where passengers line up to board. When water started seeping in, housekeeping staff tired to mop it, finally putting buckets under false ceilings."

Also Read: Mumbai Rains: 17 flights diverted at airport as rains lash city

Roshan Khetal, a local political worker, who stays close to the airport, said, "The housekeeping staff at the airport said the situation continued into Saturday morning, but the problem was at the cargo section." Khetal says that on Friday, due to the rains, the cargo area was in knee-deep water, especially around the truck parking area, which being a low lying area, gets flooded easily.

The airport roof leaked on Friday

The helpers, said Khetal, had a tough time lifting the cargo from the ground to place them at higher rakes in order to avoid damage. "The Sahar nullah which is close to the cargo complex and connects to Mithi river was also overflowing," he added. Nicolas Almeida, a former corporator and resident of Sahar, said, "The need of the hour is to have a corrective plan put in place to curtail the flooding problem."

An MIAL spoke person said in an official statement, "Due to the inclement weather conditions and the extreme heavy downpour of rain in Mumbai on July 26, 2019, though delayed there were continuous operations at the Mumbai International Airport. A few flights were diverted. With non-stop rain, we did observe waterlogging at the landside area. The situation was immediately addressed by MIAL's on-duty staff and they were relentlessly on ground to curb the situation so that the passengers could commute hassle-free. Within a few minutes, the issue was addressed and subsequently, the water level was brought down with de-watering pumps."

Also Read: Mumbai Rains: Train services from Kalyan to Karjat suspended

Talking about the water dripping from the ceiling, the statement said that "due to the crisscross water pipeline inside our vertical terminal building, there was a dislocation in one of the pipeline joints running through the building, causing leakage. The matter was addressed within no time and the required actions were taken to clear the water without disturbing the passengers."

Graphic/Uday Mohite

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