Mumbai rains: June shortfall turns into July surplus as city sees relentless downpour

Mumbai: The rain poured down in straight, steady, unrelenting sheets on Tuesday, exactly like it did on Monday, in conformity with a vertically expanding city. While the feeling of being trapped in a concretised version of the equatorial forest could not be shaken off, the good news is that the precipitation over the past few days has made up for the shortfall in June. Mumbai has, in fact, received 64 per cent of the rains it gets in July already, in the first five days of the month.

The same seasonal stories replayed – several low-lying areas were waterlogged, slowing down traffic. BEST bus routes had to be diverted and local trains were running 15 minutes late, which caused incontinence to commuters. There was a landslide in Ghatkopar, 11 house collapses, 12 tree collapses and six incidents of short circuit reported in the city, but luckily, no one was injured.

From 8. 30am to 2. 30pm, 115.

3mm of rain was recorded at Santacruz, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Normally, around 855. 7mm of rain is recorded in July; however, the city had already received 555mm of rainfall by Tuesday.

In the 24 hours until 8. 30am on Tuesday, 117. 4mm and 124.

2mm of rain were recorded at Colaba and Santacruz respectively. Waterlogging was reported at Parel TT, Sion Road No. 24, Shell Colony in Chembur, National College in Bandra, Santacruz railway station, Sadhna High School on Sion Road, Dadar TT, Wadala, Antop Hill, Tagore Nagar in Vikhroli, Andheri Subway and Nehru Nagar in Kurla, among others.

Flush from the experience of last week, the civic body had installed additional pumps at some chronic flooding spots. “Waterlogging was reported at Gandhi Market in Sion, but because of civic measures the water receded faster. While in Hindmata Dadar, no waterlogging was noticed,” civic officials claimed.

In the landslide reported at Khandoba Tekri in Ghatkopar, a tree collapsed on a house near the Tekri. No injuries were reported but the house was damaged. There were 11 house collapses and 12 tree collapses reported in the city.

Five teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed in the city, starting from this monsoon. The total rainfall recorded by IMD Santacruz is 733mm, 13mm above the average, while at Colaba, it is 555mm, a 48mm surplus until Tuesday. CM visits BMC’s disaster cellChief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the civic disaster management cell at the BMC headquarters at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus on Tuesday.

He reviewed the situation and the incidents reported in the city. There were 25 spots on the railways that are affected when waterlogged, he said. So, the Railways, BEST and the BMC should coordinate and provide alternative transport to the commuters at these points, he suggested.

He also made it a point to appreciate the work done by the BMC, saying the water had receded faster from the areas that went under. The Mumbai Traffic police were out in full force amidst the heavy downpour on Tuesday, as traffic jams, slowdowns and minor accidents were reported in areas like Western Express Highway, S V Road, Sion and Dadar. Traffic personnel were deployed at all problem spots and continuous updates were provided to citizens through social media accounts.

According to traffic police, close to 2,000 personnel were deployed on the ground on Tuesday. Raj Tilak Roushan, deputy commissioner of police (Traffic HQ), said that they were coordinating with the weather department in order to avoid added chaos in the coming days. “There is a high tide as well as a heavy rain prediction by the weather department and hence, everything that we plan to do will be implemented accordingly,” said Roushan.

The police had their hands full on Tuesday, with crucial spots like the Andheri and Khar subways being inundated and out of bounds. Vehicular traffic had to be diverted to alternate routes till the water receded from these areas. Mumbai rains: Orange alert issued in city for five days; heavy deluge expected.