Day 1 of Mumbai monsoon shows how unprepared the city is yet again

Potholes formed on Day 1 of the monsoon on the Western Express Highway at Vile Parle on Friday. Pic/Nimesh Dave

The eagerly awaited rain hit Mumbai on Friday morning, but nearly drowned it within three hours. While roads and the traffic situation were in a mess, the railways managed to stay afloat intermittently with the area between Kanjurmarg and Bhandup witnessing water-logging for the very first time. And, in two separate incidents, three people were electrocuted.

One incident of electrocution was reported from Andheri West and another from Mahakali Caves in Goregaon East.

Chennai Express stranded on the tracks near Kanjurmarg

Civic officials said that 60-year-old Kashima Yudiyar was injured after being electrocuted near the RTO Office in Andheri West at 7.48 am and was rushed to Cooper Hospital where she was declared dead. Hospital authorities said that she had suffered 30 per cent burns.

Also Read: Mumbai rains: As rains lash city, Twitterati shares hilarious memes

In Goregaon, 60-year-old Rajesh Yadav and 35-year-old Sanjay Yadav died after being electrocuted in a chawl at the Irwani Estate on Mahakali Caves Road at 7:56 am. Two others including a 50-year-old woman named Ashadevi Yadav and 24-year-old Deepu Yadav suffered injuries and were taken to Trauma Care Hospital in Jogeshwari East.

A flooded road between Dharavi and Kalanagar. Pics/Rajendra B Aklekar, Atul Kamble

In another incident, a retaining wall collapsed at the Senapati Bapat Marg, Kamgar Maidan, Dadar East around 2:57 pm, injuring three people. Chandrakant Dinkar Todavale, Vijay Nagar and Chetan Dilip Tathe were sent to KEM Hospital.

Motorists had a tough time maneuvering through the Gandhi Market, Kings Circle. Pics/Pradeep Dhivar

Rainfall across city
While the island city received between 20-30 mm of rainfall, eastern suburbs received 32-39 mm and the western suburbs received more than 50 mm of rainfall. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation data showed the eastern suburbs receiving highest amount of rainfall followed by the western suburbs and the island city.

Areas like Marol received 61 mm of rainfall while Vile Parle received 57 mm. Comparatively, there was less rainfall in parts of the island city with Nariman Point receiving 20 mm of rainfall and Malabar Hill 31 mm. Thane, Palghar and Raigad too received intense spells of rainfall up to around 10 am. The Palghar police said a lightning strike killed an eight-year-old boy in a village in the district.

Water-logged at Gandhi Market, Kings Circle

School buses stuck
Several areas across the city witnessed waterlogging followed by traffic diversions owing to waterlogging. While Mazgaon and Tardeo faced the most inconvenience in south Mumbai, eastern suburbs had trouble around Kurla, Sakinaka and Ghatkopar. In the western suburbs, water logging occurred at Andheri subway and Milan subway in Santacruz as well as in front of the Andheri Metro station. Civic officials said that 61 water pumps were functional in the city and traffic was not affected.

Owing to the ongoing Metro work and water-logging, BEST buses were diverted at many places including Bandra, Sion, and Sewri. Traffic was also diverted through Hindmata flyover in Dadar.

Also Read: Mumbai Rains: First day of heavy rains, eastern suburbs gets lion's share of rainfall

Traffic moved at snail's pace between Dharavi and Kalanagar due to water-logging. Pic/Atul Kamble

School buses too were delayed at many places. "We ply school children and have to be extra cautious since parents keep asking us for updates. When is the BMC going to fix the roads? Only on the first day of heavy rains, we got to see how unprepared our roads are," said Anil Garg, president of School Bus Owners' Association, adding that SBOA had declared in May that buses will not ply in localities that see regular water-logging. "Yet the BMC has not taken it seriously," said Garg.

Also Read: Mumbai Rains: Graft in nullah works to blame for water-logging, says MLA

Trains, flights delayed
Suburban trains were also delayed significantly on the Central Railway. For the first time, there was significant waterlogging at Kanjurmarg, delaying trains on all six lines along the stretch.

This little boy had quite some trouble wading his cycle through the water-logged Western Express Highway around Juhu Galli, Andheri West. Pic/Rane Ashish

"A builder seems to have illegally filled up a crucial drain near the rail tracks. This has led to a spillover of water on the tracks. We have alerted the BMC about this," a CR spokesperson said.

Trains were delayed by over 30 minutes because of this and till 5.30 pm, 21 trains were cancellations. A unit failure on the harbour line in the afternoon and a derailment on the Mumbai-Pune section in the evening further delayed trains on CR.

A number of BEST buses were diverted around Bandra and Sion owing to water-logging. Pic/Atul Kamble

On Western Railway, services were delayed, without major failures though. Several flights were also delayed at the Mumbai airport due to heavy rains. The visibility was around 1,500m, a spokesperson said.

Also Read: Mumbai Rains: Three dead, two injured after being electrocuted

20-30mm
Rainfall in island city

32-39mm
Rainfall in eastern suburbs

50mm
Rainfall in western suburbs

21
No. of CR trains cancelled

3
No. of people dead due to electrocution

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