Season’s first rains disrupt road, rail traffic in Mumbai; Opposition slams BMC

The season’s first rainfall disrupted both road and rail traffic in Mumbai on Wednesday morning, flooding low-lying areas and leaving commuters stranded during rush hours.

Some parts of the city received over 300 mm of rainfall in 24 hours ending at 8 am, officials said.

There was a moment of embarrassment for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) when its supervisor fell into an open drain while Mayor Ritu Tawde was inspecting waterlogged Gandhi Market in King’s Circle. He was quickly pulled out, but a video of the incident went viral in no time.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA and former minister Aaditya Thackeray said that several flights were cancelled and subways were flooded.

The BJP controlled the BMC for four years through an administrator (when elections were pending) and the present mayor is from the saffron party, he said.

“But she is more concerned about what is happening in Bangladesh. She does not know what is happening in Mumbai. We need a mayor who serves Mumbai but they (the BJP) are busy serving Delhi,” Thackeray said, taking a swipe at Tawde over her past statements about illegal Bangladeshis.

Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad shared a video of the the BMC supervisor falling into a drain on X, targeting the mayor. “This man has fallen into the pit of your inaction and corruption. This is not an accident, your corruption has been caught red-handed,” said the city Congress chief.

Manisha Kayande, a leader of the ruling ally Shiv Sena and a state legislative council member, urged Tawde to intensify drain-cleaning to prevent waterlogging and traffic disruptions during the monsoon.

“It is not about politics but about solving people’s problems,” she told reporters. The BMC is controlled by the BJP and Shiv Sena alliance.

Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide appealed to people to follow weather advisories and contact civic control rooms in case of emergencies. She said all departments had been directed to remain vigilant as heavy rainfall was likely to persist.

Mayor Tawde and former mayor Kishori Pednekar visited some waterlogged areas. The IMD has issued an ‘orange’ alert for Mumbai and neighbouring Thane and Palghar districts, predicting ‘heavy to very heavy rainfall’ and thunderstorms over the next 24 hours.

The observatory at Colaba in south Mumbai recorded 248 mm rainfall, while the suburban observatory at Santacruz logged 225 mm in the 24 hours ending at 8 am on Wednesday, the BMC said.

Among the areas that received exceptionally heavy rains, Malvani in the western suburbs recorded 340 mm, while Parel in central Mumbai received 334 mm rainfall during the period.

The intensity reduced later as the island city, eastern and western suburbs recorded 13 mm, 6 mm and 7 mm rainfall, respectively, from 8 am to 2 pm, it said. The southwest monsoon reached Mumbai on Tuesday, 13 days after its normal onset date.

The overnight rain inundated several low-lying areas of the city by Wednesday morning, affecting road and rail traffic. Civic officials said water accumulation was reported at the Andheri subway, Hindmata and King’s Circle in the morning, affecting vehicular movement and leading to traffic congestion on key roads.

Suburban railway services were also affected as rainwater accumulated on tracks at some locations, though officials said the level remained below the danger mark.

Several commuters complained of delayed services and overcrowded local trains during the morning peak hours, particularly on Central Railway corridors.

The heavy rain also affected Central Railway’s Trans-Harbour line services between Thane and Vashi/Panvel in neighbouring Navi Mumbai following a track cave-in between Turbhe and Koparkhairane stations, officials said.

A Central Railway spokesperson said the up line on the Thane-Vashi section was declared unsafe at 5.06 am, while the down line was declared unsafe at 5.50 am, affecting train operations. The up line was restored at 7.27 am with a speed restriction of 10 kmph, while the down line was declared safe at 7.35 am with trains permitted to run at 30 kmph. “Track cave-in occurred because of excess water flow,” the official said.

As per a spokesperson of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), buses on more than 24 routes were diverted due to heavy rains in the morning.

Man killed on Mumbai local over door row amid rain, accused arrested

Mumbai: A 22-year-old man was allegedly stabbed to death by a co-passenger on a Mumbai local train during an argument over whether the doors should be kept open amid the rains, in the second such incident this year, officials said on Wednesday. The accused, subsequently identified as Sachin Ramesh Suvarna (30), was arrested hours later following a massive manhunt, which included the scanning of footage from nearly 400 CCTV cameras, an official said.

Victim Mayank Lohar was fatally assaulted by Suvarna inside a first-class compartment on Tuesday, which also marked the arrival of monsoon in the city, between Andheri and Borivali railway stations in the western suburbs, he said.

Officials said Lohar and Suvarna got into an altercation as the train, a Churchgate-Nallasopara fast local, pulled into the Andheri station at 10.42 pm. One of them wanted the doors to be kept open, while the other objected, citing the rains. During the argument, Suvarna, who works at the Sahar Cargo complex of the Mumbai airport, pulled out "sattu" (a sharp weapon) from his possession and allegedly stabbed Lohar in the abdomen and chest, he said.

Lohar suffered grievous injuries and collapsed, while Suvarna, a resident of Mira Road, jumped out of the train at Borivali station before it came to a halt and ran away.

The youth was rushed to a nearby medical facility with the help of Government Railway Police (GRP) and personnel from the Railway Protection Force (RPF), the official said. He was then taken to a civic-run hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Sharing more details, the Western Railway administration said the train reached Borivali station at 11.04 pm, and GRP and RPF personnel reached the coach within three minutes and mobilised medical staff, along with a stretcher and porters.

The victim was brought to the emergency medical room at the station at 11.22 pm, where he was examined by a doctor.

Acting on medical advice, railway authorities coordinated his transfer to Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali by an ambulance at 11.42 pm, with GRP and RPF personnel accompanying him during transit, an official said.

The railway administration also secured CCTV footage and other evidence and handed them over to the investigating agencies.

Senior railway officials visited Borivali station around 1 am and reviewed the incident, he said.

GRP formed seven investigation teams consisting of officers and staff from police stations and crime branches under the city's Western Zone, he said.

The teams scanned footage from over 400 CCTV cameras installed at Borivali, Andheri, Mira Road, and Nallasopara railway stations, as well as adjoining entry-exit points of the city, he said.

"With the help of technical intelligence and other inputs, the attacker was identified from the footage and tracked down to Panvel," a senior railway police official said.

The weapon used in the crime is yet to be recovered, he said, adding that Suvarna's interrogation was underway.

As per the official, Suvarna went home after the murder and told his father that he had an altercation on the local train. Around Tuesday midnight, he left his house fearing arrest and had planned to leave Mumbai, he said.

The incident is the second stabbing reported on the Western Railway suburban network this year. In February, Alok Singh, a 32-year-old lecturer at a Vile Parle college, was allegedly stabbed during an altercation while attempting to get off a train at Malad station. Police had arrested the accused, Omkar Shinde, in that case.