Heavy rains continue in Mumbai, waterlogging cripples road and rail commute

Road traffic in some parts of Mumbai was affected and local train services slowed down to some extent on Friday morning as moderate to heavy rains continued to lash the metropolis and its suburbs, officials said.

Ever since the southwest monsoon made its onset over Mumbai on June 25, the city has been getting showers.

In the last 24 hours, Mumbai, its eastern suburbs and western suburbs received an average rainfall of 31 mm, 45 mm and 61 mm respectively, an official said.

The city has been getting moderate to heavy showers since early Friday and the intensity of rainfall is more in the suburbs, which resulted in waterlogging at some locations, he said.

Commuters complained that the Andheri subway, located between Andheri and Jogeshwari stations of the Western Railway was closed for traffic due to waterlogging. Traffic slowed down in parts of the suburbs as well.

The suburban train services of the Central Railway and Western Railway were normal, the railway authorities said.

However, commuters on some routes, including the Harbour line that operates services between Panvel and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), complained of delay in train operations in the morning hours.

A spokesperson of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) none of its buses were diverted to alternative routes due to rain.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued "nowcast warning" at 7.30 am predicting moderate to intense spells of rain at isolated places in Mumbai and its neighbouring Thane and Palghar districts over the next three to four hours.

"For the next 24 hours, the IMD Mumbai has predicted moderate rainfall in the city and its suburbs with the possibility of heavy rainfall at isolated places," a civic official said.