Sudden thundershowers throw flights off schedule; city in chaos
Sudden thundershowers throw flights off schedule; city in chaos
It was meant to happen. On Monday, Colaba had a humidity of 91 per cent, while Santacruz was 75 per cent.
Then yesterday, humidity levels at Colaba touched 97 per cent, while Santacruz was 95 per cent both 10 per cent higher than normal.
What happened then, was rain. A heavy, seemingly unstoppable downpour between 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm yesterday, that left Mumbaikars, almost all without umbrellas, stranded. Even worse, was the situation at the airport.
Stranded
Almost 30 domestic flights (arrival and departure) were delayed after the heavy showers in the city.
"To make matters worse, only one runway at the airport was operational as the other was shut for reconstruction," said an official from MIAL requesting anonymity.
Playback singer Sonu Nigam looked flustered, but was relieved when he finally landed in Mumbai at 1.30 am this morning.u00a0 A flight from Delhi, which normally takes two hours, took four to reach Mumbai.
"Thank God, my plane did not crash. The visibility was so bad that the plane was shaking till we landed," he said.
Delayed by seven hours, the Jet Airways flight from Chennai was the longest.u00a0 The aircraft that took off from Chennai at 7.45 pm and was scheduled to land in Mumbai at 9.45 pm, arrived around 2 am.
MiD DAY reporter Varun Singh, who was on board this flight, said, "Midway our plane was diverted to Ahmedabad.
We had no idea how long we were going to halt there. After a seven-hour delay, most fliers reached Mumbai in a sour mood."
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However, Nazeed Z, the night airport manager said she had no information about flight delays.
Though the rainfall took the city by surprise, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that such showers are normal in September.
"The humidity level is always high just before it starts raining, which is why the last few days were so hot.
Thunder and lightening followed by heavy rains are common in September.
And even after it rains, the humidity levels tend to be between 95 and 97 per cent. There will be irregular showers in the days ahead," said K Sitadevi, director, IMD.
R V Sharma, deputy director general, IMD, said, "The rains may continue for a while. The city may get light showers during the evening, but there won't be heavy rains during this period."
Dandiya must go on
The showers may have played spoilsport for Navratri revelers, but organisers are not losing hope. "Showers may pull back the crowd but the spirits will always remain high.
Today, we witnessed rains, but people are enjoying the weather after the humidity. We will not deter from organising dandiya," said Devendra Joshi, organiser, Sankalp Dandiya.
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