Reports: Agencies
with exclusive pics from Rons Bantwal, Daijiworld News Network - Mumbai
Heavy rains bring Mumbaikars' life to halt
UNI
Mumbai: Mumbaikars' life came to a standstill as the torrential rains continued to lash the city and its suburbs for the fourth day on Tuesday with extremely heavy downpour experienced between 0830 to 1130 hrs.
The Indian Meteorogical Department (IMD) sources said heavy rainfall was recorded this morning. In Colaba, it was 101.3 MM while Santacruz recorded 103.6 MM between 0830 to 1130 hrs. During the last 24 hours ended at 0830 hrs, Colaba recorded 121.9 MM, while Santacruz 152.0 MM rainfall.
The weather department had issued a forecast of heavy to very high rainfall in the next 48 hours.
The suburban railway, the lifeline of the Mumbaikars, was badly affected as the services on the Central and Harbour lines were suspended as the rail tracks were submerged under rainwater at many places. However, Western Railway was operating all its services since morning though much behind schedules.
Due to waterlogging at Wadala Road, Masjid Bunder, Kurla and other low lying areas in the suburban railway station, train services of Main line and Harbour lines were stopped at around 0930 hrs, however, some trains, which were stranded between two stations, were started on slow speed, the railway control room sources said.
Many commuters were stranded in the trains as local trains were halted in between stations for hours due to flooding of tracks.
BEST (Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply Transport) buses were operating with diverted routes as many areas were flooded.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) Disaster Management Centre said waterlogging occurred at several low lying areas.
Heavy rains: Flights diverted from Mumbai
PTI
Mumbai: All incoming flights to Mumbai were on Tuesday diverted while outgoing flights were running behind schedule due to poor visibility and flooding of the runway following heavy rains, airport officials said.
Due to flooding of runways, all incoming flights have been diverted since noon, the officials said.
In the morning, outgoing flights had been delayed by between 30 minutes to one hour due to poor visibility, they said.
Monsoon mayhem continues in Mumbai
NDTV
Mumbai has been grappling with intense monsoon showers, which continued for the fourth consecutive day.
Although there was no overnight rain, it started pouring heavily in some areas of the city at around 5 am on Tuesday morning.
The Met office has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours.
Primary schools and junior colleges have all been closed on account of heavy downpour throughout the city.
Authorities assure citizens
Meanwhile, BMC Commissioner Johny Joseph and Mumbai Police Commissioner AN Roy have assured citizens that the situation is being monitored.
"We have been touring all the affected areas since the morning. Several areas are waterlogged, and we are supervising relief work, coordinating action and speaking to the media," said Joseph.
Also, the Jt Commissioner of Police, Arup Patnaik has promised the support of the police and urged the citizens to show strength like last year.
The low lying Kalina and Kurla areas, where houses were submerged in two to three feet of water on Monday, remain a source of concern, and small landslides have also been reported from Khandala.
The Andheri, Milan, Goregaon and Khar subways are also shut.
Infrastructure reeling
Meanwhile, as a safety measure, the power supply has been shutdown in several places at Andheri, Malad and Goregaon.
Power has generally been shut down in places where waterlogging is more than five feet.
Trains on the Central and Harbour Railway lines have been cancelled due to waterlogging. The Western Railway's local trains are already running late by 20 to 25 minutes.
Mumbai railway authorities have issued an advisory saying that people should only leave their homes if they absolutely have to, and even then they should check train schedules before they do so.
Heavy cloud cover and poor visibility have affected air services as well. All the incoming and outgoing Mumbai flights are either delayed or being rescheduled.
Red alert in Mumbai
CNN-IBN
Mumbai: Heavy rains continued to hit Mumbai for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday, inundating several low-lying areas and railway tracks and affecting road and rail traffic.
Local trains on the Western Line were running 20 to 25 minutes late.
The Central and Harbour Lines have been shut due to water-logging, said Railway officials.
However, long-distance trains on Central, Western and Konkan Railway are running.
Vehicles have been diverted in Dahisar, Goregaon, Andheri, Khar, Hind Mata and Milan Subway. Kalina and Kurla remain areas of great concern.
There were also reports of traffic being diverted near Khandala due to a small landslide.
However, the authorities have refused to acknowledge the situation as an emergency.
"There's no contingency plan. There's a definite plan in action. We had a tremendous problem last year. So we know all the vulnerable areas. We are all in position to handle this and I don't think there's any need to panic. This goes on almost every year," Mumbai Joint Police Commisioner, Arup Patnaik, said.
Authorities have advised people not to venture out unless absolutely necessary.
Flight Details (July 4)
Flight No 9W 302 Delhi-Mumbai Diverted to Ahmedabad
9W 475 / 476 Mumbai-Goa-Mumbai Cancelled
9W 401 / 402 Mumbai-Kochi-Mumbai Cancelled
9W 3403 Mumbai - Diu-Porbander-Mumbai Cancelled
9W 413 / 414 Mumbai-Coimbatore -Mumbai Cancelled
9W 451 / 452 Mumbai-Hyderabad-Mumbai Cancelled
9W 467 / 468 Mumbai-Chennai-Mumbai Cancelled
9W 431 / 432 Mumbai-Mangalore-Mumbai Cancelled
Monsoon mayhem: