After a brief respite, heavy rains accompanied by thunder returned to Mumbai on Wednesday morning, delaying local train services, causing inconvenience to office-goers and diversion of flights.
Long-distance train services towards Gujarat remained disrupted due to waterlogging in the Vasai-Virar section in neighbouring Palghar district and at several locations in south Gujarat. Operations on the Mumbai–Pune route were also yet to be fully restored following landslides in the Bhor Ghat section on Monday.
ALSO READ: Good News For Mumbai: Tulsi Lake Starts Overflowing After Vihar As Heavy Rains Continue
Videos showed long queues of passengers wading through flooded tracks using mobile phone flashlights even after midnight following suspension of suburban services beyond Vasai Road in Palghar on Tuesday evening.
Tulsi lake, one of the seven reservoirs supplying drinking water to Mumbai, started overflowing late at night following heavy rainfall in its catchment area, hours after the nearby Vihar lake overflowed, civic officials said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast intermittent light to moderate rainfall in the city and suburbs during the day.
As many as nine Mumbai-bound flights were diverted to nearby airports due to inclement weather and low visibility at the Mumbai International Airport, sources said.
All the diverted flights later returned and landed at the Mumbai airport, they said.
Local train services, considered the lifeline of Mumbai, on both the Central Railway and Western Railway networks were running late by 25 to 30 minutes, while Metro and civic bus services operated normally.
Suburban services on a section of the Central Railway (CR) network were delayed after ballast beneath the tracks was washed away between Neral and Shelu stations in neighbouring Raigad district due to heavy rainfall in the early hours.
The ballast washout near Neral was noticed at around 4 am. Both tracks were attended to immediately and train services resumed before 6.15 am, CR Chief Public Relations Officer Swapnil Nila told PTI.
Restoration work in the Bhor Ghat section between Karjat and Lonavala stations was still underway following the landslide earlier this week, he said. As a result, several long-distance trains have been diverted, cancelled or short-terminated.
WR Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek said the movement of mail and express trains remained suspended from 7.20 pm on Tuesday till 6.50 am on Wednesday due to waterlogging near a bridge close to Sachin station in the Surat area. Train operations resumed after the water receded.
He said 39 trains had been cancelled, 21 short-terminated and 46 rescheduled due to the disruption.
"Local trains are running between Churchgate, Virar and Dahanu with delays of 25 to 30 minutes, mainly due to speed restrictions between Vasai, Nalasopara and Virar," Abhishek said, adding tracks were inundated, but the water was below the danger level.
The WR suspended suburban services beyond Vasai Road around 4.30 pm on Tuesday, after floodwaters rose above track level, prompting hundreds of stranded commuters to walk from Vasai to Virar through knee-deep water along the railway tracks.
Videos circulating on social media showed showed commuters protesting at Vasai Road station and travelling from Vasai to Virar in tractors after train services were suspended. PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of these videos.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the island city received an average rainfall of 61.13 mm during the 48 hours ended at 8 am on Wednesday, while the eastern and western suburbs recorded 86.66 mm and 86.90 mm, respectively.
Tulsi lake, the smallest of Mumbai's seven water supply reservoirs, began overflowing at 11.43 pm on Tuesday, nearly three hours after Vihar started overflowing at 9 pm, the BMC said.
Despite the two lakes overflowing, the combined water stock in the seven reservoirs supplying drinking water to the metropolis stood at 41.43% of their total live storage capacity, it said.
Modak Sagar was 72% full, Tansa nearly 69% , Bhatsa 36% , Middle Vaitarna 35% and Upper Vaitarna 21% while Vihar and Tulsi were at full capacity after overflowing on Tuesday night.
The seven reservoirs had a live storage of 598,589 million litres against their total capacity of 1,447,363 million litres, the BMC said.
Located inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai and 35 km from the BMC headquarters, Tulsi lake has a live storage capacity of 8,046 million litres (804.6 crore litres) and supplies an average of 18 million litres of water per day to the city.
Vihar, Tulsi and Powai lakes are located within Mumbai. The Powai lake also overflowed earlier this month, but its water is not used for drinking purposes.
ALSO READ: Mumbai Rains Highlights: IMD Issues Orange Alert As Heavy Rains Lash Mumbai, Thane, Palghar
Constructed in 1879 at a cost of around Rs 40 lakh, Tulsi lake has a catchment area of 6.76 sq km and a water spread area of about 1.35 sq km when full.
Last year, Tulsi lake overflowed on August 16, while in 2024, it started overflowing on August 4, the civic body said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
