By IANS
Mumbai : The ever bustling metropolis came to a halt Saturday as relentless rain lashed Mumbai, affecting train and air traffic and creating water logging in many suburbs, even as army personnel were helping rescue efforts in other parts of western Maharashtra.
Though there was a lull in the rain towards evening, several low-lying areas in central and eastern suburbs continued to be submerged, with the local authorities pressing into service all possible measures to pump out the rainwater.
All flights were cancelled, trains were halted on one of the two major lines of the city's suburban railway, many roads were waterlogged and people were asked to stay indoors as officials feared the sea would surge into India's financial capital after a continuous downpour since early morning.
"Several incoming flights to Mumbai – both domestic and international – have been diverted to other airports like Ahmedabad and Delhi. Outbound flights, which had been delayed, have now been either postponed or rescheduled," an official of the Chhatrapati Shivaji airport said.
"Flights to and from Mumbai will resume soon, if the weather holds," he said in the evening.
The flooding of railway tracks forced authorities to suspend services on the central rail line, considered the lifeline of the city.
"All trains from Kurla to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in south Mumbai have been suspended due to flooding of tracks at many points," a railway spokesperson told IANS.
"Many long-distance outstation trains have also been delayed by several hours. All Pune-bound trains have also been cancelled," he added.
Though suburban service on the Western Railway network was operational, trains were running over 30 minutes late.
"The incessant rain that began lashing the metropolis since around 0400 hours has submerged several low-lying areas in Matunga, Sion, Worli, Lower Parel in central Mumbai, Chembur and Wadala in the eastern suburbs and Bandra, Andheri and Borivali in the western suburbs," an official at the Mumbai disaster management cell said.
"The Milan subway connecting the east part of the suburbs to the west part at Andheri has been flooded disrupting vehicular traffic in the area. All efforts are being made to pump out the water from the waterlogged areas," he added.
Roads across the city, including parts of central and southern Mumbai and western suburbs, were completely waterlogged and badly affected vehicular traffic. However, authorities said the state-run BEST buses were still plying on most routes.
"A portion of a building in Malad have caved in but there were no casualties. Fire brigade personnel have evacuated people from the rest of the building," the official said.
According to meteorological department officials, Mumbai had received around 395 mm of rain from morning to evening.
Mumbaikars feared more trouble as the met department has predicted that heavy rains would continue to lash the city for the next couple of days.
"We have pressed into service all pumping stations to drain out water from flooded areas in central and south Mumbai as well as western and eastern suburbs since morning," said a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official.
He, however, admitted that it would be a daunting task to pump out the water before evening with the possibility of seawater entering the city.
Meanwhile, the army was called out to aid rescue operations in the flooded Konkan region of western Maharashtra, especially Raigad district where two people were killed in a landslide and over 1,000 people had already been evacuated, a state government official said.
Mahad town in Raigad was under five-feet water due to the downpour since late Friday. Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara in Konkan region were also experiencing heavy rainfall.
Highways in the region were badly affected and traffic was stalled at several points.
Along the entire Konkan coast, fishermen have been asked to not venture out to sea till Sunday.
The met department has predicted heavy rains in the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of north Maharashtra also in the next two days.