Mumbai rains: Torrential rainfall cripples maximum city, PM assures Devendra Fadnavis of all help

Torrential rain accompanied by strong winds pummelled Mumbai on Tuesday, disrupting rail, road and air services, uprooting trees, swamping homes, and bringing the megapolis and satellite towns to their knees.

People’s woes were compounded by the high tide that prevented natural drainage of water into the sea. Meteorological department sources said Mumbai recorded copious rain of 298 mm (11.7 inches) of rainfall in 9 hours today. Thousands of vehicles were stranded on arterial roads in Lower Parel, Dadar, Kurla, Andheri, Khar West, Ghatkopar, Sion and Hindmata areas that were under knee to waist deep water for several hours, many having broken down.
Suburban rail services, the lifeline of the metropolis, were thrown out of gear. Train services on all three suburban railway lines– Central, Western and Harbour lines–have been paralysed.

Having waited for hours on end with water showing no signs of receding, fidgety passengers were seen jumping off stationary trains and walking along the tracks to their destinations. Commuters were seen standing under knee deep water on the steps of buses in low lying areas like Parel. Traffic crawled at snail’s pace on important roads, including the Eastern and Western Express Highway, Sion-Panvel highway and LBS Marg. Prime Narendra Modi spoke to …read more