Heavy rains lash Mumbai, Thane; trains delayed on Central Line

Mumbai, Jul 31: Incessant rains lashed Mumbai and suburban areas, including neighbouring Thane district which witnessed very heavy downpour since early this morning, causing train delays on Central and Trans-Harbour lines.

The weather department has predicted very heavy rainfall in Mumbai and its suburbs during next 24 hours.

"Mumbai has been receiving good rainfall since yesterday due to active monsoon conditions. We expect very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours due to strong westerly winds and an upper air cyclonic circulation over Gujarat," V K Rajeev, director of weather forecasting at IMD here, told PTI.

He said moderate rainfall is predicted over central Maharashtra and Marathwada region during next 24 hours. Trains on the Central Line were running 5-10 minutes behind schedule, according to a Central Railway official.

The services on Trans-harbour Vashi-Panvel-Thane line were severely affected, while on the Harbour line, trains were running 15-20 minutes late, the official said. According to Skymet, in July, Mumbai recorded 925.6 mm of rain against its monthly average of 799.7 mm.

According to an official from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC's) disaster control cell, no water logging was reported anywhere in the city and vehicular traffic was smooth as well.

"There was a high tide in the morning but water has receded now. No cases of waterlogging or rain-related accidents have been reported so far," he said. An official from the Western Railway said suburban trains have been unaffected by rains, but there are delays on certain sections due to a 'jumbo' block.

"The jumbo block is having repercussions on other lines as well that is causing delays in train frequencies," he said.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard Regional Headquarters (West), Mumbai has issued an advisory regarding fishing boats, barges and coastal craft to Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in view of the fishing ban period coming to an end on July 31 as the vigour of south west monsoon season is leading to continuous bad weather at sea.

PTI