Monsoon has arrived in Mumbai with heavy rains on Tuesday. The city saw rain on Tuesday morning and these heavy showers resulted in flooding in many parts of Mumbai. The monsoon arrived a day before and has created difficulties for the Mumbaikars. It is for the first time in many years that the first day of Monsoon has disrupted the lives of Mumbaikars. “Monsoon has arrived in Mumbai today, normal arrival date is 10 June every year so it has arrived before the average arrival date,” said Dr Jayanta Sarkar, Deputy Director General (DDG), IMD Mumbai.
The IMD had predicted a cloudy sky with thundershowers in the city and suburbs. There is also a possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places for four days. The weather department had earlier warned of heavy rains in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, and Konkan areas from 9 to 12 June.
Several parts of Mumbai city and suburban areas received heavy rainfall along with thunder and lightning in the morning. According to the IMD, Colaba received 138 mm of rainfall and Santacruz 196 mm. A high Tide of 4.22m at 11.50 am on Wednesday morning also caused the flooding with heavy rainfall.
Andheri subway, Milan and Khar subways, flooded with water, were closed for people. Navi Mumbai and Thane also witnessed flooding due to the heavy downpour.
Local train services were suspended due to water-logging in some railway tracks. Routes of some BEST buses were diverted. The heavy downpour also saw heavy traffic on the eastern and western highways as buses and trains were either suspended, diverted, or commuting less.
Brihanmumbai Corporation (BMC) chief Iqbal Singh Chahal on Tuesday held an emergency review meeting with corporation officials on monsoon preparedness. The meteorological department has forecasted heavy rainfall in the city within the next few days.
The meeting was regarding sanitation work, the BMC chief instructed the completion of de-silting and cleaning of sewage lines at the earliest.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reviewed heavy rains in and around Mumbai and considering the possibility of heavy rains, the Chief Minister had instructed the Disaster Management Department to convene a meeting and keep all the agencies ready and vigilant.
CM Uddhav Thackeray has also directed the police and other agencies to take immediate action to remove the obstructions in Mumbai. The IMD has predicted heavy rainfall for the next 48 hours.