Mumbai flooded; 2 killed, BMC's claims about rain-ready city washed away

Incessant rains lashing Mumbai since last night disrupted normal life resulting in suspension of train services on the busy Central Harbour and Western lines due to waterlogging on tracks some flights were cancelled while others were diverted at the Mumbai airport taxis autos buses were unable to ply due to heavy floods in several parts of the cityThe heavy rains that pummelled Mumbai and its suburbs also saw two persons die of electrocution According to an official of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC disaster management unit a fiveyearold boy and a 60yearold woman died of electrocution in Wadala in central MumbaiThe BMC had even inaugurated two new pumping stations constructed at a cost of nearly Rs 200 crore but even their catchment areas areas supposed to be drained out by the pumps were floodedAccording to the weather bureau Mumbai has recorded a whopping 283 mm of rain since the past 24 hours which pushes the total rainfall received so far in the month of June to 537 mm This is more than the monthly average of 523 mm Civic authorities described the rainfall in the countrys financial capital as unprecedented they said 283 mm of rain is normally received in 10 daysWaterlogging near Hindmata Cinema in Lower ParelThe city has witnessed unprecedented rainfall in the last 24 hours more than that the city usually receives in 10 days Mumbai witnessed 283 mm of rain in 24 hours the citys Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta told reportersOf the total annual average rainfall Mumbai witnesses 10 percent of it has been received in 24 hours which usually takes 10 days he addedThere were reports of tree crashes road caveins vehicles submerged in rainwaters power failures traffic snarls on the Western and Eastern Express Highways waterlogging at both ends of several flyovers and the Eastern FreewayCoastal regions of the state including Thane Palghar Raigad Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg experienced torrential rains hitting normal life with flooding in several towns and villagesHeavy downpour was reported from Pune Satara Kolhapur Aurangabad Nashik and other cities slowing down normal lifeMeanwhile Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray reached the disaster management room to take stock of situation prevailing in Mumbai following heavy rains and problems related to water loggingMaharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the disaster management roomShiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and son Aditya Thackeray at the BMC disaster management roomBombay High Court Chief Justice Mohit S Shah declared Friday as a public holiday for all courts in the city due to the excessive rain which has disrupted normal lifeThere was also heavy waterlogging near the Railway office quarters in BycullaHeavy waterlogged street near Sri Shanmukhananda Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Auditorium in Sion EAlso read Mumbai rainready did you say First showers wash away BMC claimsHassled commuters at Andheri railway station Picsmidday readersThousands of commuters bound for offices and other work places were caught unaware at suburban stations around Mumbai as railways announced suspension of servicesThe BMC had earlier ordered schools in Mumbai to close in view of the heavy rain and problems related to water loggingHeavy waterlogging at a housing society in SionWhile Central line connects Mumbai CST to farflung areas like Kasara Badlapur Ambernath etc Harbour Line connects CST to Panvel Western line starts from Churchgate and is recently extended up to Dahanu In total around 7080 lakh people travel daily by local trains across all three lines which are called as lifeline of MumbaiCommuters on the Sion BridgeThere was heavy waterlogging in the areas under the Sion BridgeDadar railway stationChunabatti railway stationRailway sources said it is difficult to say by when the services would be resumed The city has been battered by heavy rains since last night Meanwhile rain services on the Western line were also cancelledThe otherwise crowded CST Railway station bore a deserted look with very few vehicles and pedestrians on the streetsHeavy waterlogging was witnessed on the JP road stretch in Andheri West between the Indian Oil junction and four bungalow signal the area below the Metro corridor on AndheriGhatkopar Link Road between Saki Naka and Asalfa High JVPD area some locations of the Santacruz Chembur Link Road among othersFlooding at Four Bungalows area in AndheriHeavy flooding occured on Currey Road station tracksThe train tracks at Matunga Road railway station were also floodedSion Santacruz Andheri Parel Ghatkopar Matunga and several other suburban areas are reportedly waterlogged Trains at Andheri railway station are said to be running till Bandra and not further The trains plying on platforms for Churchgate are running till Borivli and VirarAlso read Heavy to very heavy showers expected in the next 48 hoursFlooded street near Podar school at Santacruz WestCommuters boarding a train at Borivali railway stationPowai LakeThe railways have advised commuters to avoid travel in view of the situation unless it is very urgentSuburban services are affected due to heavy rains and waterlogging in several areas in Mumbai Central and Matunga It is advised to all that commuters may travel only in case of emergency Western Railway stated in a releaseMetro and Monorail services resumedThe VersovaAndheriGhatkopar Metro corridor and the WadalaChembur Monorail corridor resumed according to schedule with 4minute headway for Metro and 15minute headway for MonorailFlights affected as wellThe operations from Juhu Airport are closed due to water logging on the runway which was shut from 7am today and is expected to remain closed till 12pm Though due to rains according to Juhu Airport Officials the flights werent scheduled for the day K S L Narsimhan Joint General Manager of Juhi Airport said In normal condition 10 to 15 flights might have taken off up till nowThe Juhu Airport being closed due flooded runway has made the oil rig workers and officers stranded there We are trying to pump the water out and hence expect movements to begin from noon added NarsimhanMeanwhile the arrival of flights from Mumbai CSI Airport are delayed by 10 minutes Passengers are finding it difficult to reach the airport on time due to the limited transport available The auto rickshaw drivers are charging double than the meter amount to drop ferrySchool children advised to stay home exams cancelledDue to incessant rains and complaints of water logging coming from all over the city parents have been advised to not send their children to school MCGM circulated this message to schoolsAs per Deputy Municipal Commissioners order due to heavy rain all aided and unaided schools will be closed today Inform parents and forward this message to all neighboring schoolsSimilarly University of Mumbai too announced on early Friday morning that many of its examinations have been cancelled and postponed All theory and practical examinations of University of Mumbai on June 19 are postponed due to heavy rains Further notice will be given on the university website for new dates Dinesh Bhonde Controller of Examination MU He added that some BA Public policy and some practical exam of Msc have been postponedWith inputs from agencies