Heavy rains continue to pound Mumbai & suburbs

Mumbai: Heavy rains continued to lash Mumbai and adjoining suburbs on Saturday, leading to water- logging in several areas, which affected normal life.

Water-logging on tracks disrupted the suburban train services to some extent, as locals were running behind schedule by around 15 minutes.

However, flight operations at the Mumbai airport were not impacted due to rains, an airport official said.

"Overnight heavy rains in Mumbai and its adjoining areas has led to water-logging at some places, which has affected the flow of traffic, especially in parts of Malad, Andheri and Dahisar," a senior official of the said.

Chief spokesperson of the Central Railway, Sunil Udasi, said that due to heavy rains, suburban trains are running with "cautious speed".

Spokesperson of the Mumbai airport said, "Flight operations at the airport are normal."

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning of heavy rainfall in Mumbai on Saturday along with a high tide of 4.90 metres at 1.44 pm.

It also said that the weather conditions along the west coast would remain inclement.

The IMD also predicted heavy rainfall in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra.

The weather department had on Friday predicted intense heavy rainfall in Mumbai on Saturday and Sunday due to a low- pressure area over the Bay of Bengal.

In view of heavy rain warning and alert issued by the IMD, the BMC has issued a 'beach safety appeal' to citizens, the civic official said.

"We appeal citizens to avoid venturing near sea or walking in water logged areas. In any emergency call us on 1916," the official said.

As per the fire station-wise rainfall recorded by the BMC in the 24 hours ending 8 am on Saturday, Dindoshi received 50 mm rainfall, followed by Kandivali (41 mm), Malad (36 mm), Chincholi (34 mm), Goregaon (33 mm), Bhandup (31 mm), Borivali (29 mm), Malwani (26 mm), Mulund (20 mm), Vikhroli (11 mm) and Kurla (9 mm).