Mumbai, 18 Aug

Seven persons have lost their lives in the incessant rains that continued to batter many parts of Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday. More than 200 villagers were stranded in Nanded district amid incessant rains, prompting authorities to deploy the army for rescue and relief efforts.

Five persons are reported missing from Mukhed taluka of Nanded district, around 600 km from Mumbai, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

In Mumbai, people woke up to very heavy rainfall on Monday, while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a ‘red’ alert, forecasting extremely heavy rains, prompting the civic body to declare a holiday for schools and colleges, officials said. 

The IMD has issued a red alert for Mumbai, Thane and Raigad districts for Monday and Tuesday.

There has been a significant rise in the water level of Lendi dam, an inter-state irrigation project between Maharashtra and Telangana located in the taluka, while a large amount of water is flowing into the area from Latur, Udgir and neighbouring Karnataka, he said.

Roads in several areas got inundated after the heavy downpour for the third consecutive day. Many flights were affected due to poor weather conditions, with some executing “go-arounds” and one flight diverted. The heavy downpour led to low visibility and increased congestion on access roads, causing inconvenience to both arriving and departing passengers, an airport official said.

A Mumbai airport spokesperson said nine flights conducted "go-arounds" before finally landing, while one flight was diverted to Surat till 12 noon due to the heavy rains.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) appealed to residents to step out only if necessary, and the IMD asked fishermen not to venture into the Arabian Sea.

Fadnavis said Mumbai received 177 mm rain in 6 to 8 hours on Monday and asked citizens to observe all precautions since more is expected through the day along with high tides. District collectors of Nanded, Latur, and Bidar are coordinating with each other to carry out rescue operations, he said.

“One NDRF team, one military unit, and a police team are working in coordination for the rescue efforts. A military unit from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has also been dispatched. The local administration has been instructed to stay in the affected areas and coordinate continuously,” Fadnavis said.

Nanded collector Rahul Kardile told PTI that the district administration has called in a unit of the army to rescue people stranded in the floods.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) rescued 21 people stranded in Ravangaon and Hasnal villages of Mukhed taluka amid heavy rains on Sunday, he said.

Local trains, considered the lifeline of the metropolis, were running late by around 10 minutes. However, there was no suspension of services, according to officials.

The suburban services on the Central Railway route were affected as water accumulated on tracks in a few low-lying areas on the Harbour Line, and due to failure of track changing points between Kurla and Tilak Nagar stations, the officials said.

As heavy rains lashed Mumbai on Monday, waterlogging was reported in several pockets, leading to slow moving traffic. Owing to waterlogging, both lanes of the Andheri subway were shut for vehicular movement for the day. The Mumbai Traffic Police informed that traffic will be routed via Thackeray bridge and Gokhale bridge.

Waterlogging was also reported along the Vakola bridge, Hyatt Junction as well as Khar subway, leading to slow traffic movement, police said.