Heavy rains cripple Mumbai

Mumbai (IANS): Heavy rains over two days have crippled suburban trains and hit life in Mumbai Sunday, officials said. Many low-lying areas in the city and suburbs were flooded due to the incessant downpour accompanied by gusty winds that lashed the metropolis. According to the BMC Disaster Control Cell, many areas reported flooding of one to three feet of water, and even more in some areas. Flood waters entered the ground floor homes and shops in places like Sion, Kurla, Chunabhatti, Dadar, Parel, Byculla, Mazagaon, Masjid Bunder and Worli. Waterlogging was reported in roads at Dahisar, Borivli, Malad, Andheri, Santacruz and Mulund with vehicles compelled to take longer detours. The Central Railway suspended suburban services between Dadar-Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Kurla-CST on the Harbour Line from 10.35 a.m. after the tracks went under water.

The water entered even some suburban railway stations. Several long-distance trains scheduled to leave Mumbai were delayed by three to six hours while incoming services were terminated midway, inconveniencing passengers. Western Railway trains ran late by 15-20 minutes Sunday though there was no dislocation of services. According BMC, Mumbai recorded a whopping 10.5 cm of rains till 2 p.m. Sunday. IMD forecast heavy to very heavy rains over Mumbai and surrounding areas accompanied by gusts of up to 50 km per hour in the next two days. Fishermen on the Mumbai and Konkan coasts have been told not to venture into the choppy Arabian Sea.

Monsoon arrives in Delhi before time New Delhi (Agencies): Monsoon on Sunday roared into Delhi and hit Punjab and Haryana almost a fortnight in advance as heavy rains lashed northern India, driving away the heat and spreading cheer among the people. Strong easterlies pushed the monsoon clouds over the national capital with seasonal rains now having covered the entire country almost a month in advance, MeT officials said. The normal date for the arrival of monsoon in Delhi is June 29. Monsoon rains, which usually cover the entire country by July 15, had covered two-thirds of its landmass by Friday. Rains in Delhi led to water-logging and traffic snarls in some areas; heavy showers are forecast in some parts on Monday. Last year, the onset of monsoon was delayed by eight days. It had reached Delhi ahead of schedule in 2011 (June 26), but arrived late in 2010 (July 5).