The Mumbai branch of the India Meteorological Department on Saturday predicted heavy rainfall in the city in the next 48 hours, a day after three people were killed and five people were injured as the city witnessed the first proper spell of monsoon rain. The India Meteorological Department has also predicted heavy rainfall across the state till July 3.
Heavy rains lashed the city and its neighbouring areas on Saturday, PTI reported. Suburban local trains services remained largely unaffected and were running as per schedule. However, the Central Railways cancelled some passenger trains, particularly ones running between Mumbai and Pune, after the weather department’s forecast.
The Mumbai-Pune Pragati Express, the Mumbai-Pune Sinhagad Express, the Bhusaval-Mumbai Passenger, and the Pune-Panvel Passenger were cancelled and will not run on Sunday also. The Bhusaval-Pune Express was diverted through Daund-Manmad, the Central Railways said in a press release. The Mumbai-Bhusaval Passenger will remained cancelled till July 1, it added.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said 39 incidents of short circuit, 104 incidents of uprooting of trees or falling tree branches were reported from various parts of the city.
According to private weather forecasting agency Skymet, Mumbai has so far recorded 235 mm of rains. This is the second highest rainfall recorded in the city in a span of 24 hours in the last 10 years, it added. The city will also surpass its monthly average rainfall of 493 mm as more showers are predicted.
However, civic officials said it was too early to say if the rains had brought relief as water levels in the lakes were dipping, and the civic body was using its reserve stock. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said many more days of rainfall were required to come out of the water crisis in the city, The Times of India reported.
The total water stock in the lakes on Friday was 71,017 million litres, which is 4.91% of their full capacity. On the same day last year, the stock was 2.79 lakh million litres. An unidentified senior official told The Times of India that water from the reserve stocks would be used as the current stock would not last long to meet citizens’ requirement.
On Friday, the rains caused massive traffic snarls on key roads and disrupted the city’s suburban services. Traffic diversions had to be made because of waterlogging in various parts of the city.
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