Mumbai Rains: NDRF steps in as savior of stranded train passengers. Navy on Standby

Mumbai, July 10: Mumbaikars continue to face a harrowing time with incessant rainfall bringing various services to a halt. Commuters travelling between Thane to Kalyan were left stranded as traffic on the stretch came to a standstill after an overloaded truck turned over an auto-rickshaw on Tuesday. Besides, cracks on Saket bridge, along the Bhiwandi bypass on Mumbai-Nashik Highway, escalated the situation.

The accident took place at Bhiwandi’s Kongaon when the truck hit a pothole and fell over an auto, injuring four occupants. One of them succumbed to injuries in a hospital.

On the other hand, one side of the two-lane Saket bridge, used to go towards Mumbai and Thane from Kalyan, has been closed. “The engineers are checking it. The traffic police have been informed, and they are managing the traffic,” said Santosh Kadam, chief of disaster management cell of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).

Teams of NDRF and Coast guards also rescued over 400 stranded passengers on Vadodara Express (12928), which was halted between Nallasopara-Virar. A railway official said that snacks and other refreshment, arranged from Andheri, were provided to the passengers of the train. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the Navy is also on standby.

While the city’s iconic ‘Dabbwallahs’ or lunch box carriers suspended their services on Tuesday, local trains between Vasai and Virar came to a halt due to heavy rains.

“We did not collect the tiffins today (Tuesday), because of the water logging across the city. Our people find hard to wade through their cycle in knee-deep water,” Mumbai Dabbawalhahs Association’s spokesperson Subhash Talekar said.

The India Meteorological Department said it is the highest rainfall of the season so far in 24 hours with India’s financial capital receiving five times the average rainfall on Monday.

Normal life has been crippled in Mumbai and neighboring towns with trains and road transport coming to a standstill in the wake of heavy rainfall for the third consecutive day.

“Since last night, over 200 mm rainfall has been recorded which led to water logging on railway tracks and considering the passengers’ safety, train services have been stopped till the water level on the track recedes,” a senior railway official said. He said that de-watering efforts are being made by the water pumping machines to flush the water.

The Met department said that more rains is very likely at few places with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in the districts of Greater Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Palghar between Monday to Friday.

The fast line local train services have been halted in Nallasopara as authorities say that the tracks have been submerged in water. Vehicles on many roads were seen crawling because of the rainfall and low visibility. Potholes compounded the problem. A local resident tweeted saying that he has been stuck in his house since two days due to incessant rainfall.

As many as 87 local services on the Central Railway (CR) and the Western Railway (WR) were cancelled on Monday due to the heavy rain, said officials. Schools and colleges were shut in Mumbai, while the Mumbai University said examinations will be rescheduled for students who could not appear for them on Monday.