Mumbai: Lifelines hit as rain lashes city

TNN

Mumbai, 04 June 2011: One of the early spells of heavy pre-monsoon showers brought the city to a grinding halt on Friday, June 3, 2011 evening, throwing the rail and road transport systems out of gear, and even disrupting air traffic. As the downpour, coupled with high tide, rose the level of water, a 10-year-old boy drowned in the Dombivli creek. 

 

The Harbour line services to Vashi and Panvel were shut for over an hour after a snag in the overhead wires. "The overhead wire between Vashi and Mankhurd tripped around 8.45 pm. The fault was repaired in an hour and the services resumed around 10 pm," said a CR spokesperson. 

 

Though peak hour passengers were spared, those travelling late were stranded. "The train I was on stopped at Vashi bridge for 40 minutes," said a Vashi resident. "Finally when the wait became inordinately long, many started jumping out of the train and went back to Mankhurd station. There we heard an announcement that train services had been down." 

Services on the main CR route were also disrupted. "Trains ran behind schedule by more than 30 minutes," the CR spokesperson said, adding that some services were cancelled owing to the delay. 

 

Residents travelling on the roads were not spared of inconvenience. Snarls across the city were created by waterlogging in Byculla, Dadar, Matunga, Mahim and Linking Road in Bandra. The BMC disaster control room, however, any waterlogging. "There were a few incidents of trees being uprooted and drains choking," the official said. 

 

Flight operations were suspended at the Mumbai airport for about 20 minutes around 8.40 pm. 

 

The aviation weather reports showed dense cumulonimbus clouds and an overcast sky at 8,000 feet. "Some incoming flights were diverted to Ahmedabad and Vadodara," said an airport source. The Mumbai International Airport Pvt ltd spokesperson was not available for comment.