Heavy rain cripples Mumbai

, June 16: Heavy

over two days has crippled suburban trains and hit life in Mumbai Sunday, officials said.

Many low-lying areas in the city and suburbs were flooded due to the incessant downpour accompanied by gusty winds that lashed the metropolis.

According to the BMC Disaster Control Cell, many areas reported flooding of one to three feet of water, and even more in some areas.

Flood waters entered the ground floor homes and shops in places like Sion, Kurla, Chunabhatti, Dadar, Parel, Byculla, Mazagaon, Masjid Bunder and Worli.

Waterlogging was reported in roads at Dahisar, Borivli, Malad, Andheri, Santacruz and Mulund with vehicles compelled to take longer detours.

The Central Railway suspended suburban services between Dadar-Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Kurla-CST on the Harbour Line from 10.35 am. after the tracks went under water.

The water entered even some suburban railway stations.

Several long-distance trains scheduled to leave Mumbai were delayed by three to six hours while incoming services were terminated midway, inconveniencing passengers.

Western Railway trains ran late by 15-20 minutes Sunday though there was no dislocation of services.

According BMC, Mumbai recorded a whopping 10.5 cm of rains till 2 p.m. Sunday.

The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rains over Mumbai and surrounding areas accompanied by gusts of up to 50 km per hour in the next two days.

Fishermen on the Mumbai and Konkan coasts have been told not to venture into the choppy Arabian Sea.

IANS