At least two persons were killed in rain-related incidents as Mumbai and surrounding districts were clobbered with torrential rains since Tuesday night, even as the road, rail and air traffic were largely unaffected, officials said on Wednesday.
According to Mumbai Police, a 38-year-old man Kaushal Doshi was killed when a massive tree crashed on him at Mamledarwadi in Malad west.Another tree collapse was reported at Mithanagar in Goregaon west and 30-year-old Premlal Nirmal was killed, it said.
In a shocker, a landslide occurred on a portion of the road near the Mumbai Metro Magathane station, near Borivali, causing minor damage but there were no casualties.The Western Railway, Central Railway and the Harbour Lines functioned normally despite heavy rains and reported no water logging on the train tracks on the entire suburban sections, officials said.
According to the IMD, Mumbai city and suburbs notched a total of 77 mm rains each till 6 p.m. on Wednesday.The BMC’s weather stations have recorded 32 mm in the city, 84 mm in eastern suburbs and 83 mm in the western suburbs till 6 p.m.
The incessant downpour resulted in waterlogging in many low-lying areas of the city and suburbs, ranging from ankle-deep to knee deep water, leading to massive traffic snarls reported across Mumbai.
The BMC Disaster Control reported 22 instances of tree crashes, including two with fatalities (as above), 4 complaints of short-circuits, and six minor house-crashes in the city.A 17-year-old youth Rehan Shaikh was injured in a house wall collapse in Govandi and has been admitted to the Shatabdi Hospital.
In Vikhroli, the BMC and police evacuated over two dozen slumdwellers after a landslide and mudslide due to the downpour and they shifted to their relatives’ homes though a private school was kept ready to house them.
Facing flak from various quarters, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) teams swung into action to clear the water but their efforts were hampered by the high tide in the Arabian Sea this evening at 7 p.m. with waves reaching 3.48 metres that pushed back the drainage water.
Sporting an orange raincoat, BMC Commissioner Dr. I.S. Chahal and his team of officials stepped into the field for a spot assessment of the rainfall situation in several areas, including a portion of the Mithi River, the pumping station at Hindmata and underground water storage tanks.
The downpour notwithstanding, the BMC has announced a 10 per cent water cut in the city from July 1, while Navi Mumbai will be slapped with a 15 per cent water cuts, said officials.A compound wall crash in an NRI complex in Navi Mumbai flattened around a dozen vehicles parked besides, including some high-end cars, and the rescue officials were deployed for the clearing operations.
Large areas of Thane city – the hometown of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Badlapur, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Dombivali and other towns – witnessed heavy rains with flooding in low-lying areas. The police, fire brigade, disaster teams and home guards were kept in readiness for quick deployment in any emergency as rains continue to pound Mumbai and surrounding districts.
The IMD has sounded rainfall alerts of varying degrees for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg in the coastal Konkan region over the next three days.