Mumbai rains: No respite from heavy showers; local trains delayed

Mumbai, July 07: Mumbaikars had no respite from heavy rains which continued to lash the city for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday, delaying local train services on the Central Railway route following a wall collapse on a track, officials said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rainfall in the city and suburbs with very heavy to extremely heavy rains very likely at isolated places on Thursday.

The IMD has also predicted the possibility of occasional strong winds reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph, a civic official said.

While there was no water-logging on rail tracks in Mumbai, a small portion of a wall collapsed between Masjid and Sandhurst Road stations in south Mumbai on the down (north-bound) track of the Harbour Line, affecting train operations on the route for some time, a Central Railway official said.

The suburban services were delayed by a few minutes, due to heavy rainfall in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane district, he said. The Western Railway said its "train services were running normal", but some passengers complained of trains on the route running late by a few minutes and overcrowding in coaches.

The island city (south Mumbai) received 82 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours, while the eastern and western suburbs received 109 mm and 106 mm downpour, respectively, a civic official said. There was no major water-logging anywhere in the city, barring some low-lying areas like the Andheri subway, sources said.

Due to good rainfall in the catchment areas of reservoirs supplying water to the city, their levels improved up to 19 per cent on Thursday morning, a civic official said.