The India Meteorological Department has issued a warning for Pune, Satara, Solapur, Sangli and Kolhapur districts of Maharashtra, with moderate to heavy rain predicted at isolated places in the next 3 to 4 hours.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a warning for Pune, Satara, Solapur, Sangli and Kolhapur districts of Maharashtra, with moderate to heavy rain predicted at isolated places in the next 3 to 4 hours.
Torrential rain in and around Mumbai On the morning of July 13, several low-lying areas were flooded and traffic on roads was disrupted, officials said.
Local trains, considered the lifeline of the metropolis, remained largely unaffected on the Central Railway and Western Railway routes. According to railway officials, suburban services on the Harbor line are running at a slow pace.
Some areas, including the Andheri Metro that connects the eastern and western parts of the suburb, have been flooded and the police have restricted its use by citizens.
Heavy traffic was also witnessed on the Western Express Highway, which connects the suburbs to South Mumbai, a Mumbai Traffic Police official said. “There was heavy traffic on the route to some extent near Borivali, Goregaon, Jogeshwari, Andheri and Bandra,” the official said.
The Colaba (in south Mumbai) and Santa Cruz (western suburbs) observatories recorded 24 mm and 44.6 mm of rain, respectively, in the 24-hour period till 8.30 am on Wednesday.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), 20 places in Mumbai received nearly 40 mm of rain in the six hours till 9.30 am on Wednesday.
“It is not very much rain, but if it continues for a few hours, the roads may get waterlogged, affecting vehicular movement,” an IMD official said.
The Meteorological Department has predicted rain in the state capital on Wednesday and Thursday. According to IMD data, the cumulative rainfall in Mumbai has already exceeded its average rainfall in the current monsoon season.
The Andheri Metro was waterlogged for one and a half to two feet, after which the traffic was diverted towards SV Road, a police official said. Flood was also reported at Kamani Junction in Kurla and traffic was normal there.
Waterlogging was up to 0.5 feet at Neelam Junction in Deonar East suburb. The Mankhurd railway bridge was also flooded with similar water and the traffic was moving at a slow pace, the official said.
He said that up to one foot of water had accumulated at the Bandra-Worli Sea Link Gate, which slowed down the traffic in Worli. A tree fell in the Bandra-Kurla Complex area, following which traffic was diverted towards JB Junction.
Traffic slowed down due to water logging at Paresh Park Market in Vikhroli, a bus depot near Santacruz Railway Station, Dadar TT, Wadala Shakar Panchayat, near Fatima High School in Ghatkopar, Sonapur Junction and Khar Railway Junction, police said. A bus stopped at Pedder Road, slowing down the traffic on the route, he said.
IMD has predicted heavy rains in many parts of Maharashtra
The India Meteorological Department issued a warning for Pune, Satara, Solapur, Sangli and Kolhapur districts of Maharashtra on the morning of July 13, predicting moderate to intense rainfall at isolated places in the next 3 to 4 hours. A nowcast is a prediction made by analysis of currently available data.
The IMD has also issued similar warnings for Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Dhule, Nandurbar, Osmanabad, Aurangabad, Beed and Nashik districts.
Anupam Kashyapi, head of IMD’s weather forecasting department, said, “There is a possibility of moderate to intense rain at isolated places over Thane, Palghar, Mumbai and Raigad during the next 3 to 4 hours.”
“The packed isobars still persist over the Arabian Sea. The strong westerly wind has led to an increase in the pressure gradient force, leading to the convergence of heavy wind over the ghat sections of Konkan-Goa and Madhya Maharashtra,” he said.
“A low pressure area is persisting over the Bay of Bengal, which is forming around the same time,” he said.
“There will not be much reduction in rain activity over the state and Pune district till Thursday. Monsoon will remain vigorous in the state today and tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the water level of various dams has increased due to incessant rains in Pune and other western Maharashtra districts. The collective water storage of the Khadakwasla, Temghar, Warasgaon and Panshet dams, which provide water supply to the city of Pune, reached over 12 TMC (thousand million cubic feet), which is 42% of the total collective capacity of the four reservoirs, A district administration official said.
“The Khadakwasla dam is filling up fast, releasing 10,000 cubic feet per second (cusec) of water,” the official said.
According to the fire department, 20 incidents of tree falling were reported in Pune city on Tuesday and three people were injured in two separate incidents of wall collapse. In Satara district, the water level of Koyna dam is more than 38 TMC, which is 36% of the total capacity.
The popular Mahabaleshwar hill station of Satara recorded 136 mm of rain in the last 24 hours, while Koyna and Navaja received 123 mm and 142 mm of rain, an official said.
After incessant rains in the district, the water level of Panchganga river has reached 35.2 feet in Rajaram Veer of Kolhapur. The warning level in the dam is 39 feet and the danger level is 43 feet.
“Four state roads and seven district main roads in Kolhapur were closed for vehicular movement after water logging in some parts,” an official of the district’s Public Works Department said.