Rainfall resumed in parts Mumbai this morning after a lull overnight, adding to the difficulties that Monday office commuters in the country’s entertainment and financial hub would face as rainwater flooded many parts of the city. The weather office has forecast continuous rain in Mumbai and heavy rainfall in nearby places today. All suburban trains are running except on the Kalyan to Karjat and Kasara route, said Central Railway spokesperson Sunil Udasi. “It’s nature’s fury, and the railway administration is doing everything possible for normalisation of services. Kindly bear with us and plan your journey accordingly,” said Mr Udasi. The Maharashtra government has sought six more teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) for Mumbai, Thane and Palghar to evacuate people if needed.
- Mumbai University has postponed its exam for open learning students scheduled today, said the university’s spokesperson Vinod Malale. All schools and colleges in Palghar, Thane, Raigad and Mumbai are also closed today.
- All government employees in Mumbai and its satellite towns have been allowed to report late to work today. The government has asked people to stay at home unless it’s absolutely necessary to go out.
- “Some government offices providing emergency and essential services will remain open. Private office staffers may move out only if essential,” said the city’s civic agency Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
- No air traffic disruption was reported this morning. On Sunday, there were six go-arounds (aborted landing of an aircraft) and two diversions at Mumbai airport.
- Hundreds of passengers who were stranded at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus were given refreshments by the BMC. They had to wait at the station for hours after 12 trains were cancelled and six were stopped midway to their destinations after tracks came under rainwater.
- The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rainin Mumbai and its suburbs, and extremely heavy rain at isolated places in the next 24 hours. Heavy rain also hit Nashik and Pune, where the water level in rivers has been rising.
- On Sunday, a 52-year-old woman and her son were electrocuted in their home after a live wire came in contact with water. In Pune’s Lonavala district, a 10-year-old boy died and his younger sister was injured after a wall of their house collapsed.
- At least 400 people from a residential area near Mithi river in Mumbai were shifted after its water level crossed the danger mark following heavy rain on Sunday.
- The Indian Air Force on Sunday airlifted 56 people from Khandvali, a rain-hit village in Thane district near Mumbai, after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis sought its help to rescue the villagers.
- Some 150 students of MIT College in Pune, who were stranded in their college building as water level rose due to heavy rain, were shifted to a safe place by a team of the fire department on Sunday.