Maharashtra Rains: Woman Drowns In Andheri, Schools And Colleges Closed; PM Modi's Pune Visit Cancelled

A 45-year-old woman, later identified as Vimal Anil Gaikwad, drowned in an overflowing nullah in suburban Andheri as incessant torrential rainfall battered Mumbai and several other parts of Maharashtra on Wednesday. According to the officials, the incident occurred at around 9.20 pm near gate no. 8 of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in Andheri East.

It has been reported that immediately the local police and the fire brigade were alerted who promptly took the woman to the Cooper Hospital where she was declared brought dead.

Mumbai rains: IMD issues red alert

Excessive rainfall in Mumbai on Wednesday inundated several low-lying areas, halted local trains in their tracks and forced diversion of at least 14 incoming flights.

Amid the red alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) announced that all the schools and colleges in the city will remain shut on September 26, Thursday. The civic body has also urged citizens to come out of their homes only if necessary.

"The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for heavy rain till 8.30 am tomorrow (September 26, 2024). In this background, keeping in mind the safety of the students, all the schools and colleges in Mumbai are declared a holiday tomorrow, Thursday, September 26, 2024," BMC wrote in a post on X on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, several areas in Mumbai recorded alarming rainfall levels, exceeding 100 mm. The most affected regions include Mankhurd that experienced the highest rainfall at 190 mm, followed closely by Ghatkopar with 182 mm, Vikhroli at 188 mm, Veena Nagar in Mulund with 104 mm, Bhandup at 120 mm, Powai at145 mm, Chembur at 162 mm, and Govandi recording 167 mm.Other areas, such as Sewri, Wadala, Worli, and Grant Road, also recorded notable rainfall, with measurements of 127 mm, 110 mm, 53 mm, and 74 mm, respectively.

PM Modi's Pune visit called off

In light of the current weather situation in Maharashtra Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Pune on Thursday has been called off. The prime minister was slated to launch projects worth rupees 22,600 crores, including the inauguration of the Pune Metro section from District Court to Swargate.

Due to a heavy rain alert, the Pune district administration has ordered the closure of schools and colleges in Pune city and the Pimpri Chinchwad area for Thursday.

Schools, colleges closed in Mumbai, Pune

In light of the inclement weather conditions, schools and colleges in Mumbai and its suburbs will remain shut on Thursday amid a red alert for heavy rains. School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar declared a holiday on Thursday.

Similarly, the Pune district administration has also issued orders to keep schools and colleges in Pune city as well as Pimpri Chinchwad area closed on Thursday.

The directive has been issued by District collector Suhas Divase issued the directive following IMD's alert that there will be rains coupled with lightning and thunderstorms.On Wednesday, Pune city witnessed heavy rains in the evening and there was water-logging in several areas.

Train services halted, traffic jam

According to the Central Railway's chief spokesperson, there was waterlogging between Vidyavihar and Mulund train lines, and on lines between Bhandup and Nahur. "Between Kanjurmarg and Vikhroli stations, a caution order of 30 kmph (speed) has been imposed," he added.

However, train services remained normal in the western region despite heavy rainfall.

Reviewing the inconvenient situation, the Central Railway appealed to the stranded passengers to remain inside the trains and avoid stepping onto the tracks.

Ghatkopar railway station, where Mumbai Metro service too originates, also witnessed massive crowds. A regular commuter told PTI that the slow train on which he was traveling took one hour to reach Ghatkopar from Kurla, and it was jam-packed with almost no space to breathe, while another passenger said that his train was stuck at Kurla for two hours.

"Ghatkopar Metro station right now. There's a chance of stampede as there's too much crowd. Avoid taking any mode of public transport right now...." X user @Prasadrajguru1 wrote.

Flights ops disrupted

The adverse weather conditions significantly affected the flight operations at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. As per reports, a total of 14 flight diversions took place including nine from IndiGo, two from Vistara, one from Air India, one from Akasa Air, and one from Gulf Air. The flights were rerouted to Ahmedabad (4), Hyderabad (7), Goa(2), and Udaipur (1) respectively.

SpiceJet has announced that all departures and arrivals at Mumbai Airport (BOM) may be impacted due to adverse weather conditions.

"Due to bad weather (heavy rain) in Mumbai (BOM), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected," SpiceJet said in a statement, urging passengers to keep a check on their flight status on the airline's official website.