Heavy rains in Mumbai; train services unaffected

Mumbai, Sep 28 (PTI): Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and suburbs on Tuesday but no major water-logging is reported so far and public transport services, including suburban trains, also remained unaffected, officials said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an “orange alert” indicating “thunderstorm with lightning, gusty winds, and very heavy rainfall at isolated places” for Mumbai and neighbouring areas for Tuesday.
The Mumbai Regional Meteorological Centre had issued a newcast warning of “likely moderate to intense spells of rain at isolated places” in the districts of Mumbai and neighbouring Palghar, Thane, and Raigad during the next 3-4 hours. “Possibility of thunder/lightning accompanied with gusty winds in some areas. Take precautions while moving out,” the warning stated.
Mumbai has been receiving heavy showers since this afternoon, but no major untoward incident was reported in the city and suburbs so far, according to officials.
A civic official said no incident of a major water-logging was reported despite heavy showers in Mumbai. Public transport services are also running normally, he added. “It’s raining heavily in suburban and ghat sections. But, local and long-distance trains are running as per time table,” Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer, Central Railway said.
Central Railway provides suburban train services connecting south Mumbai to western and eastern suburbs, along with Navi Mumbai.
The IMD has issued a “yellow alert” for Mumbai indicating “thunderstorm accompanied with lightning, gusty winds, and heavy rainfall at isolated places” for Wednesday.

10 dead in rain fury

Ten people were killed in heavy rains and floods in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, while one person died on Tuesday after a bus got swept away in Yavatmal even as more than two dozen stranded people were rescued in Latur district, officials said.
Besides, more than 200 cattle perished and a number of houses were damaged in torrential rains that lashed Marathwada on Sunday and Monday, causing havoc in a region which is considered a perennially drought-plagued area, they said.
One person died and three others were missing after a state transport bus got swept away while crossing an inundated bridge in Yavatmal district on Tuesday morning, the officials said.
The incident took place around 8 am at Dahagaon bridge in Umarkhed tehsil when the semi-luxury bus of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) was going from Nagpur to Nanded.
The bus got swept away for about 50 metres while passing through the bridge, which was flooded following heavy rains in the area, and then overturned, an official said.
Heavy rainfall in catchment areas of the Manjara dam forced authorities to open all 18 gates of the reservoir to discharge water on Tuesday, which led to flooding in some villages in Beed district while an alert was sounded in some neighbouring districts, the officials said.