Monsoon arrives early in Mumbai

Mumbai, May 31 (UNI) The monsoon has arrived in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra a week in advance.

Heavy rains, accompanied by lightning and thundershowers, lashed the city and its suburbs since afternoon.

The first rains claimed one life with one person drowning near the Gateway of India this evening while 17 others were injured in two incidents of wall collapse at Malad and Vikhroli here.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rains in the next 24 hours. The IMD has warned fishermen against venturing into the sea.

The rains in Mumbai today, however, brought back memories of the deluge on July 26 last year and office-goers left their offices early to reach home to avoid getting stranded.

Life was thrown out of gear as traffic jams were witnessed at several places following water-logging in the low-lying areas.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Commissioner (BCM) Johny Joseph, while speaking to reporters, however claimed that the civic administration had taken every precaution to prevent a 26/7 repeat. An emergency cell has been opened and is functioning round-the-clock, he said.

Ward officers have been allocated additional funds to engage labourers at times of emergencies, he said. The work on cleaning the ''nullahs'' in the metropolis has also progressed well, he added.

This apart, six new fire stations will be made operational during the first week of June in various parts of the metropolis, Mr Joseph informed.

Meanwhile, the rains disrupted the suburban train services too.

Railway sources said that due to snapping of overhead lines between Vidhyavihar and Ghatkopar, the Central Railway train services were affected for over an hour.

Trains on the Konkan route were disrupted and most of the Mumbai-bound trains were running four to six hrs behind schedule.

UNI ST MAZ ARB HS2306