Maharashtra rains: Waterlogging paralyses life in Mumbai, IMD issues red alert for tomorrow

The incessant rains also led to the cancellation of 11 flights and diversion of nine from the Mumbai airport while a wall collpased at Tilak Nagar in Kalyan in a housing society. No injuries were reported. Follow LIVE updates

Waterlogging brings several districts to a standstill

Due to incessant rains, several parts of the state were waterlogged, causing massive traffic snarls. There were reports of waterlogging from railway stations and subways, leaving people stranded for hours. Heavy rains led to flooding in the tracks in Thane district, resulting in the Kolhapur-bound Mahalaxmi Express getting stranded near Vangani.

However, after 17 hours of relentless efforts, all 1,050  passengers aboard the train were safely evacuated with the help of NDRF, Navy, IAF, Railway and state administration officials. The passengers then boarded a special train arranged for them from Kalyan to Kolhapur.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah applauded the effort of the rescue team, calling it “exemplary”. “We were closely monitoring the entire operation. Kudos to the rescue teams for their exemplary effort,” he said.

Bhiwandi and Shahapur received 185 mm and 195 mm of rain, respectively.

Overflowing lakes compound problem

The Modak Sagar lake, one of the seven reservoirs supplying water to Mumbai, started overflowing on Friday afternoon following heavy rains over the past few days, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. Compounding the problem, the Tansa lake, another key source of potable water for the metropolis, started overflowing too.

Read | Mumbai: Heavy rain in 12 hours, authorities put on alert for ‘severe situation’

The heavy downpour for the past three consecutive days has helped in significantly increasing the level in all the seven lakes supplying water to Mumbai, a senior civic official told PTI.

Traffic jams were reported from major Mumbai city junctions (Express photo by Deepak Joshi)

Mumbaikars feel the pinch as traffic, trains, flights get affected 

According to PTI, traffic jams were reported from major Mumbai city junctions like Sion, Matunga, Mahim, Andheri, Malad and Dahisar due to heavy waterlogging. Traffic in areas like Juhu Tara Road, Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road, several stretches of SV Road and on the parts of Western Express Highway were also affected.

The local trains and the suburban train lines too were severely affected because of massive waterlogging at major railway stations.

At Mumbai International airport, as many as 11 flights were cancelled while atleast nine were diverted to nearby airports on Saturday, an airport official said. Suburban train lines, the lifeline of the city, too were severely affected because of massive waterlogging.

Central Railway chief spokesperson Sunil Udasi told PTI that heavy rainfall and an overflowing Ulhas river resulted in waterlogging at Ambernath due to which a few trains were short-terminated or cancelled.