Mumbai Rains: Over 300mm of downpour paralyses city, authorities scramble to restore order

Mumbai: The city was brought to a standstill on Monday as over 300 millimetres of rainfall lashed the city within six hours, from 1 am to 7 am. The deluge flooded low-lying areas, disrupted suburban trains, and forced the closure of schools and colleges.

The downpour caused severe water logging, impeding traffic movement at key locations including the south-bound elevated airport road, King Circle Matunga, Kurla depot, Dadar TT, Hindmata junction, Ram Nagar Subway (Vakola), Andheri Sunway SV Road, and Sakkar Chowk-Wadala.

Whilst trains continued to run on the main line, heavy rains and water logging between Bhandup and Nahur necessitated the implementation of clamping and padlocking measures, completed by 6:45 am. Harbour line services managed to operate normally.

Railway officials deployed high-capacity water pumps to drain the tracks and monitored the situation closely to keep Mumbai's lifeline operational. Suburban trains experienced delays of up to 10 minutes due to water levels rising above the tracks between Matunga Road and Dadar, with at least five trains cancelled.

The mainline services between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Thane were briefly suspended on the fast line due to water logging. Similarly, Harbour line services were temporarily halted at Chunnabhati.

The severe weather conditions left over 10-15 lawmakers, including minister Anil Patil, stranded in a train near Kurla. Patil and lawmaker Amol Mitkari were forced to disembark and walk to the nearest road.

Sushma Nair, a scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre, attributed the heavy rainfall to an offshore trough along the Gujarat to north Kerala coast, which intensified along the north Konkan coast around midnight.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 170 millimetres of rain between 2:30 am and 5:30 am at the Santacruz observatory, the city's baseline weather station. In the 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Monday, Santacruz weather station logged 268 millimetres, while Colaba recorded 84 millimetres of rainfall. Thane received 119 millimetres of rain, with some areas surpassing 150 millimetres.

The IMD predicted continued heavy to very heavy rainfall in Mumbai, coupled with a 4.40-metre high tide expected at 1:57 pm.

Opposition Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat criticised the poor maintenance of drainage systems, stating, "Poor work of nullah cleaning and absence of precautionary steps has put the people in hardship. There are no elected representatives in the civic body and it has worsened the situation."

In response, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ordered all agencies to expedite relief work, acknowledging that the exceptional volume of rain in a short duration had led to the crisis. He expressed hope for swift relief for the city's residents.