IANS/Mumbai


Floods and disruptions in road, road and air traffic marked the return of monsoon in Mumbai and surrounding areas after a month’s lull yesterday.
Heavy rains since yesterday morning severely hit office goers, school and college students and commuters in Mumbai.
The overnight rains hit the Mumbai’s lifeline, the suburban trains network on the Western, Central and Harbour lines with disruptions and delays ranging from 10-30 minutes.
Traffic on the two highways splicing the city vertically and arterial roads in the city and suburbs was affected due to flooding in several parts, falling trees roads and overflowing drains.
The Central Railway local services were disrupted on the Thane-CST sector for some time due to 10 inches of flooding near Sion, Wadala, Thane, Matunga, Kings Circle and Kurla stations.
Similarly, on the Western Railway, downpour in the adjacent Thane and Palghar districts led to flooding on railway stations, in villages and towns like Bhiwandi, Dahanu, Saphale and nearby areas.
The local authorities announced closure of schools and colleges and made arrangements to shift people to higher locations as their homes were flooded in several villages and towns.
Flights at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport were delayed by 15 minutes due to low visibility but there were no cancellations, airport officials said.
Heavy rains have been reported in all the coastal districts of Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, besides hinterland like Nashik, Pune and Ahmednagar.