Heavy downpour lashes Mumbai, flights diverted

Mumbai, July 21

Heavy rains pounded Mumbai and its suburbs on Sunday, disrupting flight operations and inundating roads in many parts of the city, an official said. Flight operations at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport were suspended twice for a brief period due to inclement weather and low visibility, a source said.

At least 15 flights were diverted to the nearby airports, mainly Ahmedabad, till 4 pm. As intermittent heavy spells of rain hit the city, runway operations were suspended at 12.12 pm for eight minutes and from 1 pm to 1.15 pm, the source said.

Flights of IndiGo, Air India, Vistara and Akasa were diverted. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the city received 82 mm of rain, the eastern suburbs 96 mm, and the western suburbs got 90 mm till 4 pm.

Suburban train services were operating normally on both the Western and Central Railway routes. However, trains were delayed by 15 to 20 minutes on the Harbour Line due to waterlogging near Mankhurd, Panvel and Kurla stations. A few buses were diverted because of flooding in many parts of the city.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday asked officials to be on high alert in light of heavy rains in several parts of Maharashtra.