Mumbai rains: 11 flights cancelled, three diverted due to downpour; waterlogging hits rail movement on Central Line

IMD has predicted that heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at a few places with extremely heavy falls at isolated places in Raigad and Palghar districts, and at a few places in Mumbai and Thane today.Mumbai received heavy rainfall on Monday morning, resulting in waterlogging and slow traffic in various parts of the city.[caption id="attachment_6957201" align="alignleft" width="380"] Commuters wade through a waterlogged street, following heavy rain in Mumbai. PTI[/caption]Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport also reported that it had briefly suspended operations due to heavy rains. However, no flights were cancelled. The services were stopped at 9.12 am and later resumed at 9.31 am, reported The Indian Express.The report quoted a spokesperson for the airport saying, "Due to heavy rains, visibility is changing every minute. Since 9.15 am, the visibility at the airport is fluctuating. There is a delay due to weather. No cancellation as of now, but three diversions took place till now."A total of 11 flights were cancelled and another three were diverted on Monday due to heavy rains that briefly affected operations at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.As the visibility dropped below the required level for aircraft movement due to heavy showers, the runway remained closed for operations for nearly 20 minutes, resulting in cancellation of 11 flights, said a Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson.All the cancelled flights were of private carrier IndiGo, he said. Of the 11 cancelled flights, eight were departures and three arrivals, he said. Besides, another three flights of the airline were diverted to the nearby airports due to the downpour, the spokesperson added.The Central Railway said there was heavy rain at various locations on Mumbai suburban route. "Central Railway locals are running normal on main line, harbour line, transharbour line and 4th corridor (Kharkopar-Nerul/Belapur). No disruption anywhere," it tweeted.The suburbs received around 20 mm rainfall in just three hours starting 8.30 am, an IMD official here said. This caused water-logging on rail tracks at Ghatkopar, Kanjurmarg, Sion and other stations due to which local trains on the Central Line were running slow.In Mumbai, parts of Sion, Bandra, the Western and Eastern Express highways, and Andheri were waterlogged and experiencing heavy rainfall which is expected to continue for the next few hours, Skymet reported. Traffic jams were also reported from Bandra, Santacruz and Vile Parle and Borivali. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation issued a statement soon after Twitter users posted updates about the waterlogging and traffic situation in various parts of the city. "Dear Mumbaikars, the city has experienced heavy rainfall in the last couple of hours, especially in the eastern suburb. We regret all the inconvenience. But the intensity is on decline now and our teams will try to pump out logged water as soon as possible," the statement said.[caption id="attachment_6957221" align="alignleft" width="825"] IMD forecast[/caption]Heavy cloud formation was bringing more rains to the city, the IMD official said. "The catchment areas of dams that supply drinking water to Mumbai are also receiving good precipitation. The city is expected to receive more rains today," he added. The metropolis and its adjoining areas received heavy rains for four consecutive days in June end-early July, badly affecting normal life and disrupting rail, road and air traffic at that time.