Mumbai lashed by heavy rain; schools, colleges shut; train, bus services hit

Several parts of Mumbai city experienced heavy showers on Monday morning (July 8), with the city recording 300 mm of rainfall from 1 am to 7 am, according to the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation).

Waterlogging in low-lying areas

The rains led to waterlogging in various low-lying areas like Kurla East, Worli, King’s Circle area, Dadar, Vidyavihar railway station, and Buntara Bhavan. Vehicles were stuck on the flooded roads.

“My car is stuck on the road. There is no point on blaming the government for the rains. The government is doing its job,” one commuter told the news agency ANI.

This was the scene in Kurla area in Mumbai on Monday due to the heavy rains that lashed the city.

Flights, trains cancelled

Several trains were cancelled on Monday (July 8), including the Mumbai-Pune Deccan Queen, CSMT-Pune Intercity Express (train number 12127), Pune-CSMT Deccan (11007), Pune-CSMT Deccan (12124), Pune-CSMT (11010), and MMR-CSMT (12110).

Tata’s Vistara airline advised passengers to plan more time for their trip to the airport to catch their flights due to the traffic snarls on roads leading to the airport.

Fifty flights (both arrivals and departures) were cancelled as well, 42 of those of the no-frills IndiGo and six of Air India.

“Fifty flights have been cancelled till 11 am on Monday at the Mumbai airport due to low visibility and heavy rains. Of these, IndiGo had to cancel 42 flights, including 20 departing ones, while six flights of Air India including three arrivals were cancelled,” a source told PTI.

The government-owned Alliance Air also had to cancel two (one departure and one arrival) of its flights on Monday, the source said.

Earlier sources said runway operations at the airport had to be suspended from 2.22 am to 3.40 am, leading to diversion of some 27 flights to nearby airports.

Flights were diverted to cities such as Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Indore, among others, they said.

Suburban train services affected

Central Railway suburban train services on certain routes were affected due to heavy rains, said the CPRO (Chief Public Relations Officer).

“Train services are affected at Sion and between Bhandup and Nahur stations. Rainwater was above the tracks, so trains were stopped for nearly an hour. Now the water has receded a bit, so trains are restarting, but services are still affected,” said the CPRO.

Trains on the suburban and Harbour Line were delayed due to waterlogging, and the stations that were affected were the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Kurla, Vikhroli, and Bhandup, said the Central Railway.

Schools, colleges closed

The BMC declared a holiday for the first session on Monday (July 8) for all government and private schools and colleges in Mumbai. The civic body said the decision for the next session would be announced after the situation was reviewed.

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

Maharashtra School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar made the announcement in the state legislative council in Mumbai.

“Mumbai received rains last night. We have issued a notification in the morning declaring a holiday today for all the schools in Mumbai city, Mumbai suburban, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts,” he said.

The movement of local trains on the Central Railway routes has also been affected, the minister said.

The local trains were running 30-40 minutes late. The situation will improve by afternoon, Kesarkar said in the House.

BEST buses diverted

Mumbai’s bus transport corporation said many BEST buses were diverted from their usual routes due to waterlogging in certain areas. It put out a post on X with the details of the buses that have been diverted.

Trekkers rescue

Several tourists and trekkers stranded at the Raigad hill fort near Mumbai had to be rescued.

The fort, located around 170 km from Mumbai, has now been closed for visitors till July 31, said officials. Only the ropeway (to reach the fort) will be operational.

Raigad district in Konkan region witnessed heavy rains over 24 hours, due to which a number of visitors were stuck at the fort, a famous monument which was once the capital of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji.

The Raigad police and district administration teams went there and evacuated the tourists and trekkers, the official said.

“There was no cloud burst, but there is heavy rainfall in the area,” he said, adding that Mhasala, Srivardhan, Mahad tehsils have also witnessed heavy showers.

Deaths in Goa

In neighbouring Goa, too, incessant rains wreaked havoc for the third consecutive day on Monday, inundating several low-lying areas in the coastal state.

Three persons died in a wall collapse at Kundaim Industrial Estate amid heavy rainfall in North Goa on Sunday, police said.

Labourers Dilip Yadav (37), Mukesh Kumar Singh (38) and Trinity Nayak (47) died after a wall collapsed on them, an official said.

(With agency inputs)