Mumbai Rain: Schools Shut, WFH Advisory Issued as Amid Orange Alert

In view of orange alert issued by Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) on Tuesday, July 7, all schools and colleges in the Financial capital city will remain closed for the day.

The development comes as heavy rain, thunderstorms and waterlogging and other rain-related incident batter Mumbai, impacting daily life.

In a release issued on Monday night, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said holiday for educational institutions has been declared as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of students, reported news agency PTI.

A day earlier, the civic body had ordered the closure of all government, private and civic-run schools and colleges as heavy rain continued to lash the city. The BMC also appealed to residents to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary and asked people to call its helpline, 1916, in case of emergencies.

Work-from-home advisory in Mumbai

In its initial order on Monday, the BMC said government and private offices would function as usual. However, as the situation worsened through the day, the Maharashtra State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) issued a work-from-home advisory for private offices. It also directed non-essential government offices in Mumbai to function only for the first half of the day.

The move came as relentless rainfall disrupted transport and affected normal life across the city.

Local train services disrupted

Heavy rain also hit Mumbai's suburban railway network. According to ANI, local train services on the Central Railway were temporarily suspended between Kanjurmarg and Bhandup on the slow line towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) after a plastic sheet got entangled in the overhead equipment (OHE).

Services were also disrupted on the Western Railway section between Vasai, Nalasopara and Virar.

Meanwhile, continuous heavy to very heavy rainfall triggered waterlogging and flooding in several parts of Mumbai as well as neighbouring districts, including Raigad and Palghar.

"Many places in Mumbai have received heavy to very heavy rains, with extremely heavy rains in isolated places and over ghat regions. Pune district, Raigad and Palghar have also received extremely heavy rains. Lonavala has received the highest rainfall today at 670 mm," an IMD scientist told ANI.