Two security guards of a building were killed on Wednesday after having been trapped in a flooded lift at a housing society at Agripada in south Mumbai, even as overnight rains continued to batter the metropolis and its suburbs inundating the low-lying areas and paralysing the road and rail traffic in the country’s commercial capital.
On a day when Mumbaikars woke up to heavy rains that had been lashing the metropolis and its suburbs for the entire night, a shocking tragedy befell Nathani Residency building in Agripada, where two security guards met a watery grave when they went to waterlogged basement at around 8 am to start the water supply for the society.
However, water levels started increasing when they entered the lift and closed the doors and tried to go to the upper floors. “The flooded lift did not start nor did the doors open… They pressed the alarm buttons and some residents rushed down to save them, but could not go there due flooding,” Agripada Police Station Senior Police Inspector Savlaram Agavane said.
The two deceased security guards were identified as Jamir Ahmed Sohanan and Shehzad Memon. Later in the day, the bodies of the two security were taken out from the flooded lift by the fire brigade personnel who arrived on the scene little later.
With no let up in the rains, the railway tracks of the Central and Western Railway’s suburban network – considered Mumbai’s life line—lay under thick sheets of water at several places. While the services of the Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) were badly affected, the CR services from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus to Thane and Vashi had to be suspended.
Heavy water-logging was reported from parts of Mumbai like Dadar, Wadala, Parel, Sion, Matunga, Worli, Mumbai Central, Kurla, Chunabhatti, Mazagaon, Masjid Bunder, Byculla Goregaon, Malad, Dahisar, Kurla, Ghatkopar and Mulund. Similarly, the subways at Dahisar, Malad, Santacruz and Mankhurd were flooded, prompting the authorities to suspend the traffic.
In what has become a familiar sight in Mumbai, the people seen wading through knee-deep and waist-deep waters in several parts of Mumbai including Dadar, King’s Circle, Sion, Worli, Matunga, Nana Chowk, Grant Road, JJ Junction, Kala Chowkie, Hindmata, Bhendi Bazaar, Goregaon and Dahisar.
Owing inundation in many parts of the metropolis, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation-run BEST buses were run on several routes.
The intensity of the rains could be gauged from the fact that while the Island city recorded a rain fall of 147.8 mm between 8 am on Tuesday and 8 pm on Wednesday, the suburbs registered a rainfall of 268.4 mm during the same period.
Intermittent rains are expected to continue in the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR) throughout Wednesday and Thursday.
“There were very intense spells of rains throughout the night. Radar images indicate Mumbai Thane, Palghar, Raigad intense clouds, rainfall likely to continue in Mumbai and its suburban areas,” Indian Meteorological Department’s Deputy Director General of Meteorology KS Hosalikar said.
Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal appealed to people not to step out of their homes unless it is very essential. “The rains are likely to continue for the day. We are advising people to step out only if it is absolutely necessary,” Chahal said.
Meanwhile, as many as eight wall or house collapses were reported from different parts of the city, while there were 12 tree falls in the city. Similarly, there were 40 incidents of electrical short-circuit in various parts of the metropolis.