Schools and junior colleges in Mumbai, Thane and the Konkan region in Maharashtra were closed on Thursday as more heavy rainfall was predicted, NDTV reported. This was the second straight day that the schools in Mumbai were closed. In other parts of the state, district collectors were left to take the decision on the basis of prevailing conditions.
A seven-year-old boy was swept away in a flooded canal in Palghar district on Wednesday. A 62-year-old man who fell into a nullah in Thane district on Tuesday afternoon was still missing as search operations were on, District Disaster Control Officer Anita Jawanjal said, according to PTI.
On Wednesday, two civic body workers were killed after falling in rainwater during heavy downpour at Goregaon in Mumbai’s western suburbs, News18 reported. They were identified as Vijayendra Sardar Bagdi (36) and Jagdish Parmar (54). They were on duty in the Siddharth Nagar locality.
An orange alert was issued in Mumbai, which has already surpassed its September average rainfall of 327.1 mm four days into the month, The Indian Express reported. The all-time record rainfall in the month is 920 mm, which occurred in 1954.
The alert indicated extremely bad weather, potential disruption in power supply and transport services, and advised people to stock up on food and other essential items. In a tweet, the Mumbai Police requested people to remain indoors. The torrential downpour in Mumbai and its suburban areas is being attributed to low pressure areas over the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
Flight services were also disrupted for the second day at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport with 30 flights cancelled and 118 delayed. The airport cancelled 14 incoming flights and 16 outbound flights on Thursday, PTI reported, citing a live flight-tracking site.
However, Mumbai International Airport Limited said that flight operations were normal. “IndiGo has reported cancellations,” its statement read. “Please contact the airlines for further information.”
IndiGo said, in a statement on Thursday morning, that it had resumed operations according to schedule. “There are few cancellations to stabilise the operations,” the airline was quoted as saying. “Therefore, we request the passengers to check the status of their flight before proceeding for the airport. All affected passengers are being accommodated on alternate flights.”
Meanwhile, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation reportedly said that it would investigate the alleged incident where IndiGo had forced passengers on its flight to Jaipur to sit in the aircraft at the Mumbai airport. “My IndiGo flight was scheduled to take off for Jaipur at 7.55 pm Wednesday night,” an unidentified passenger said. “It took off at 6 am today [Thursday] and landed in Jaipur at 8 am. I boarded the flight around midnight but all passengers remained seated in the aircraft till departure this morning.”
The passenger claimed that no dinner had been provided to them and that a few of them created a ruckus on the tarmac. One of the customers even called the Central Industrial Security Force, he added.
The Central Railway said services had been restored in the suburban harbour line. A local train towards Andheri left Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus at 5.22 am and a local train towards Panvel left the terminus at 6 am, ANI reported. A number of flights were also delayed, and passengers were seen sleeping outside the domestic airport because of flight delays.
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