Mumbai Rains: Local trains resume services amid red alert, CM Eknath Shinde says ’don’t leave home unless...’

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde urged people to stay home on Monday amid torrential rainfall in Mumbai. The public transit system also came to a screeching halt as some pars of the city received more than 300 mm of rainfall in just six hours. Schools and colleges were closed and both Houses of the Maharashtra legislature adjourned after members failed to reach the Vidhan Bhavan.

“It has rained a lot in less time, more than the carrying capacity. Therefore, there was waterlogging on railway tracks and roads. Traffic has started moving now. BMC, state disaster team, and NDRF are on alert…Traffic is running on Eastern and Western highways and all railway lines. Senior BMC officials are present at all waterlogging-prone spots in the city,” the Chief Minister assured.

The CM also visited the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation control room and chaired a meeting at the Mantralaya to take stock of the heavy rain situation. He assured that the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force remained on alert and noted that NDRF teams had now reached all three coastal districts of the state.

A red alert was sounded across the entire MMR region on Monday after some parts of the city received more than 300 mm of rain within six hours. Hundreds of houses in different parts of Mumbai, Thane and Palghar suffered damage while more than a dozen vehicles were swept away.

The public transit system had ground to a halt on Monday morning amid waterlogging on train tracks and arterial roads. Local train services between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in south Mumbai and neighbouring Thane were suspended for a few hours as the main corridor of Central Railways became inundated. Heavy rain and low visibility also led to the suspension of runway operations at the Mumbai airport from 2:22 am to 3:40 am on Monday and the cancellation of 50 flights.

(With inputs from agencies)