Mumbai, July 8 (IANS): With more heavy rain expected during the afternoon on Monday and a big high tide in the Arabian Sea, all schools, colleges and other educational institutions were ordered shut for the day in Mumbai and Raigad districts.

The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had ordered shutting all schools and colleges for the first session in the morning and later even shut the afternoon sessions for Mumbai after the city was clobbered with over 300 mm rains in just six hours from 1.00 a.m. onwards.

A short while ago, the Raigad authorities also ordered a day’s closure of all educational institutions as rain continued to batter the district since midnight, and other districts in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region are likely to follow suit.

Besides the downpour, there will be a big high tide at 1.57 p.m. measuring 4.40 metres high, and the combined effect of the two could pose serious hazards to students and citizens, particularly in the coastal or hilly areas.

The famed capital of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Raigad Fort was pounded with torrential rain and large quantities of water gushed down the 1737 steps leading to the hilltop, some 1,356 metres up, scaring many visitors, while the Raigad Ropeway services have also been suspended.