High tide hits rain-battered Mumbai

Reports said the high tide hit at around 2 pm worsening the already precarious situation of the city that witnessed a total mess with road and railway communication being heavily disrupted following waterlogging because of heavy rainfall that measured 35 mm in just five hours since Friday morning.


A Western Railway release said "suburban services are affected due to heavy rains and water-logging in several areas in Mumbai Central and Matunga."

 Train services have also been stopped between the busy Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and the Kurla suburb on the Central line. The Western Railways is running staggered services till Andheri.


The rail authorities have advised people to travel by train only if necessary. 

Railway sources said with rain waters submerging tracks, operations have been suspended on the Harbour line.

While local train services, the city's  lifeline,  had to be stopped due to the waterlogging of railway tracks in many areas there was heavy jams on roads throwing traffic out of gear. 


Tens of thousands of commuters remained stranded on roads and at railway stations.

The  city's BEST buses have changed their routes because of flooding at several areas including Hindmata, Dadar, Parel, Sion, Vikhroli, Andheri, Jogeshwari and Santa Cruz.

Taxis demanded hefty charges to take a passenger in while auto rickshaws either refused services or couldn't make their way through the flooded streets.


Reports said even  flights at the Mumbai airport have been delayed due to the rain. 

The delays in flights are due to "ATC congestion" as the rain has affected flight timings. As for the visibility, 

Offices and schools have been shut and residents have been asked to stay indoors. The Bombay High Court has been also been shut down for the day. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued an alert declaring a holiday for all schools on Friday.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that he is personally monitoring the situation. 

After his visit to the BMC offices, the Chief Minister said that the focus was on draining the water from the roads, adding that the authorities were concerned about the high tide expected later on Friday.

More rainfall has been predicted for the next 24 hours. The civic body of the city has pressed about 120 pumps into service to clear the excess water from the roads.