Mumbai rains: Powai Lake overflows amid heavy downpour

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A civic official said that Mumbai's Powai Lake began overflowing on Monday as heavy rains lashed the city for the last couple of days, reported news agency PTI.

The lake, which has a storage capacity of 545 crore litres, started overflowing at 4.45 pm amid Mumbai rains, the official said, reported PTI.

However, the water from the lake is not potable and is used only for industrial purposes.

When the lake is full, the water area is around 2.23 square kilometres, while the catchment area is 6.61 square kilometres, reported PTI.

Located around 27 kilometres from the BMC headquarters, Powai Lake was built in 1890 for Rs 12.59 lakh, reported PTI.

Seven reservoirs, namely Bhatsa, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, Tansa, Modak Sagar, Vihar and Tulsi, supply 385 crore litres of potable water to the megapolis.

Meanwhile, heavy rains pounded Mumbai and adjoining areas, severely affecting the Central Railway's suburban services due to waterlogging on tracks and also hit the airport operations leading to 50 flight cancellations on Monday.

The rain mayhem led to inundation of many low-lying areas in the city, impacting vehicular movement, and people were seen wading through flooded streets.

The state government declared a holiday for all schools in Mumbai, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts amid Mumbai rains.

Some areas in Mumbai received more than 300 mm of rainfall in just six hours ending at 7 am, causing inundation of roads and low-lying areas.

Heavy rains also lashed the city throughout the day, further compounding the woes of residents.

Both houses of the Maharashtra legislature were adjourned as many members and officials could not reach the Vidhan Bhavan due to the downpour.

Maharashtra Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation and Disaster Management Anil Patil and NCP MLC Amol Mitkari alighted from the Howrah-Mumbai train and walked on tracks for some distance, a video of which went viral.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde took stock of the heavy rain situation by chairing a meeting at the Mantralaya and visiting the control room of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said in the assembly that flooding occurs in Mumbai when there are heavy rains along with high tide.

(With inputs from PTI)