Heavy rain in Mumbai; flights diverted; schools, colleges closed tomorrow

Schools and colleges in Mumbai and its suburbs will remain shut on Thursday amid a red alert for heavy rain, officials said.

School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar, the guardian minister for Mumbai city, declared a holiday as heavy rain pounded Mumbai.

A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official said the holiday had been declared as a precautionary measure as the Met department had issued a red alert predicting extremely heavy rain till 8.30 am on Thursday.

"All schools and colleges under BMC's jurisdiction will remain closed on Thursday, considering the safety of the students," the BMC stated.

The civic body also appealed to citizens to step out of their homes only if necessary.

"Commuters are advised to check weather updates and plan accordingly," the civic body said.

Heavy rain has been lashing Mumbai and its suburbs since Wednesday afternoon, inundating low-lying areas, stopping local trains on tracks between Kurla and Thane stations and stranding passengers even as traffic crawled on roads.

Meanwhile, two flights were diverted out of Mumbai Airport on Wednesday due to the inclement weather in the city, an airport official said.

Besides, seven flights of different airlines had to make a go-around till 8.09 pm before getting clearance for landing, he said.

The two diverted flights included IndiGo flight 6E1052, which initially did a go-around before finally getting diverted to Ahmedabad.

The city is witnessing heavy showers since afternoon, leading to waterlogging and disruption of traffic.