Real Mumbai rain arrives, bringing real Mumbai pain

Mumbai witnessed its first spell of heavy showers on Monday with the Santacruz observatory of the India Meteorological Department IMD recording 2679 mm of rainfall in 24 hours and weather stations set up by the civic body registering figures higher than 300 mm from 1 am to 7 am The longawaited showers lowered the mercury but waterlogging overflowing nullahs and traffic jams threw life out of gear for many But as schools and colleges were shut and many firms allowed employees to work from home the situation didnrsquot get too out of handChaos unfolds at Kurla station due to disruptions on Central Railway on Monday PicSayyed Sameer AbediPrasad Salvi a resident of Shahaji Raje Road in Vile Parle East said ldquoWaterlogging started around 3 am At one point the water level was 15 feet and rainwater would have entered our house if we hadnrsquot acted promptly Since we had no other choice we opened manholesrdquoSakshi Name a resident of Shantaram Pada a slum area near the highway in Malad said ldquoWater started entering our homes around 330 am The BMC had cleaned the gutters on the main road but the small ones were choked When we raised the issue before the monsoon the contractor told us that it was not his job It happens every year but the authorities merely shrug their shouldersrdquoWasim Athaniya a resident of Aarey Milk Colony said ldquoOn Monday morning while going from Picnic Point towards the Marol police camp I was shocked to witness the waterlogging in the subway along this road This is proof that the authorities did not do premonsoon workrdquo Amey Sawant an Andheri resident said ldquoThe BMC administration did not clean gutters and nullahs properly as waterlogging was witnessed at JVPDrdquoShreyas Shinde a Kingrsquos Circle local said ldquoWhenever it rains heavily our area is among the first to get waterlogged I donrsquot know why the BMC never takes any action Ours is one of the richest municipal corporations but we still face basic issues It is frustrating to do this every yearrdquoCommuters miffedMangesh Lolge a resident of Mansarovar Navi Mumbai said ldquoI travel daily to Chakala which takes around one and a half hours On Monday it took four hours to reach my destination The train stopped at Vashi From there I travelled by bus to Ghatkopar station Then took the Metro to Chakalardquo Harsha Kadam who travels from Kalyan to Ghatkopar faced the same issueVehicles struggle through water at Nehru Nagar Kurla PicShadab KhanShe said ldquoMy daily journey spans around one and a half hours On Monday it took four and a half hours My train stopped at Thane I then took a bus from Thane Highway It takes around three hours to reach Ghatkopar from Thane The scene at Thane station was frustrating I started my journey around 8 am from Kalyan and reached Ghatkopar around 1230rdquo About 23 buses were stranded at various locations in the city and several routes were diverted due to waterlogged roadsWaterlogged areasAlmost half of the city was submerged for several hours Traditional spots such as Gandhi Market and Hindmata were waterlogged as usual Locations like LBS Road Powai Andheri Vile Parle West Juhu SV Road Malad East Kandivali East Tilak Road Ghatkopar Shiv Srishti in Kurla Govandi Deonar Wadala station Asalfa Nehru Nagar Kurla Railway Station Kurla Signal Govandi station Shell Colony Vinoba Bhave Nagar Gauri Shankar Nagar Ghatkopar MG Road Junction Chunabhatti as well as Andheri Khar Air India Colony Irla Junction Netaji Palkar Road Malwani bus depot and Borivli East in the western suburbs were waterlogged However the rivers in the stretch did not overflowThe BMC spent Rs 250 crore on nullah cleaning this year The civic body also activated 481 dewatering pumps this season It spent Rs 125 crore on these pumps However they proved useless in lowlying areas where drains outflowed A BMC official said a high tide of 383 m was recorded around 1 am which combined with heavy rainfall resulted in water accumulationSubway situationThe Dahisar Malad and Andheri subways were under three to four feet of water from midnight to Monday afternoon A couple was safely rescued after their car was stuck in the waterlogged Sainath subway The police barricaded the Andheri subway to avoid any untoward incident Ravi Raja former leader of Opposition in the BMC said ldquoThe civic body spent Rs 250 crore on nullah cleaning and promised that this time water would accumulate Still the city got waterlogged and the BMC is making weird excusesrdquoRail operationsWhile Central Railway CR services ran intermittently Western Railway WR operated smoothly on Monday ldquoHeavy rain from midnight to 6 am on July 8 caused waterlogging at various places on CRrsquos Mumbai division resulting in disruption of train services All mail express trains that were stranded because of heavy rains and waterlogging at various locations early on Monday morning have reached their destinationsrdquo a CR spokesperson saidThe WR spokesperson said ldquoDue to heavy rains in Mumbai since 230 am there was water on tracks at some places Highcapacity pumps installed at these locations were immediately put in service with staff monitoring the situationrdquo Shubham Padave a commuter said ldquoThe harbour line was closed from 7 am to 130 pm As a result passengers heading to their offices and returning home after completing the night shift were stuck Many passengers opted for the C521 on the WadalaVashi route while some took the ST bus from Dadar TT to Vashi The government should have waived fares on the Atal SeturdquoReliable MetroAmidst the incessant rains disrupting local train services and causing waterlogged roads in Mumbai and its suburban areas Metro services have proven to be the most reliable travel companions for commuters With their impeccable punctuality and high ridership these services have demonstrated their superiority as the best travel modes in any seasonActivist alleges negligenceDespite a complaint by RTI activist Anil Galgali on June 26 2024 that the Kurla car shed drain had not been cleaned ldquoCR and the BMC kept on pushing the responsibility of cleaning the drain on each other Railway services faltered due to water entering the tracksrdquo Galgali said Galgali had requested the Railways and BMC to clean the drain near the car shed and warned that failure to do so would lead to waterlogging on tracks ldquoThe CR general manager and municipal commissioner should investigate the matter and action should be taken against those concernedrdquo the activist statedHighest rainfall recorded over past decadeJuly 2 2019 3752August 30 2017 3314Sept 20 2017 3037Sept 23 2020 2864June 19 2015 2834August 4 2020 2686July 8 2024 2679July 16 2021 2533June 27 2023 2531rainfall in mmAreawise break up of rain from 1 am to 7 am on MondayGovandi 3156Powai 3146Dongri 2922Chakala 2782Aarey 259Chembur 2212PratikshaNagar 2202LBS Road 189Sewri Koliwada 1858Raoli Camp 1763Dharavi 1658rainfall in mm