Heavy rains claim 12; Mumbai train, road traffic hit

Mumbai, June 23: The metropolis witnessed heavy to very heavy showers since this evening, throwing the transport system out of gear.

Central Railway officials told UNI that the trains were running around 20 minutes behind schedule although unconfirmed reports said that the local trains, the lifeline of the city, were running nearly an hour behind schedule. The Western Railway was less affected with the local trains being just about five to 10 minutes delayed.

The fire brigade control room remained extremely busy as the first rains brought in its wake fallen trees all over the city.

However, fire brigade officials said that there had been no loss of life, though the traffic snarls were seen on most parts of the city roads.

A report from Pune said that twelve people were killed and 14 others injured in two incidents of wall collapse today as heavy rains, accompanied by squally winds, lashed the city and adjoining areas since last night.

Police said in the first incident at Baner, eight persons were killed and eight others injured when a wall collapsed at Jai Bhavani Mata Mandir in Baner area at 0130 hrs, while in the second incident of wall collapse at 0345 hrs at Paud Road, four persons were killed and six others injured.

Waterlogging was reported from different parts of Pune, throwing traffic out of gear. Highway police, however, informed that traffic flow has been smooth on National Highway-4 and the Express Highway.

The Met department has forecast heavy rains and thundershowers in the city and its suburbs in the next 48 hours.

The Met department also informed that heavy rainfall since evening was witnessed at a few places with very heavy downpour in the districts of Greater Mumbai, Thane, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Jalgaon, Nasik, Marathwada region and also in some other parts of the state.

Meanwhile, the Colaba observatory in south Mumbai has recorded 17.8 mm rainfall, while the Santacruz weather office in the suburbs has recorded 27 mm in the last 24 hours ending 0830 hours.

UNI