Mumbai: Areas to avoid

Beginning July 31, Mumbai has again been in the grip of incessant rains. At 11.45 am today, 208 mm of rainfall had been recorded in Santa Cruz in north Mumbai and 161 mm in Colaba in south Mumbai.

The Maharashtra government has announced that schools and colleges in Mumbai and Thane will remain closed tomorrow ie Tuesday too.

Mumbai Police commissioner A N Roy stated at 02.00 pm today that several areas of Mumbai were still flooded. He requested offices to send their employees home early, but at staggered times, to avoid congestion on the road and on public transport. He said that S V Road in north Mumbai was open to larger vehicles and that buses were running on this road.

While many of Mumbai's suburbs were under water all day, the water is now subsiding. The follwing areas are still flooded:

• Veera Desai Road and JP Road, Andheri
• Dadar TT Circle
• Jogeshwari
• Marol
• Kalina
• Low-lying areas of Matunga and King's Circle
• Hindmata at Parel
• Bharatmata at Lalbaug
• Low-lying areas of Powai
• Thakur Village in Kandivili
• Bandra-Kurla complex is flooded and should be avoided.
• Kurla
• Kalyan
• Low-lying areas of Malad
• Bandra East and Kala Nagar
• Chunabhatti
• Wadala
• The subways at Andheri, Khar, Milan, Malad and Dahisar are flooded. They have been closed. Subways connect the western parts of these suburbs with the eastern parts.
• Low-lying areas of Nerul
• Low-lying areas of Borivali
• LBS (Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg) Road in the eastern suburbs

The Western Express Highway is not flooded so far. The Eastern Express Highway is flooded at Ghatkopar, Mulund and Vikroli. The Mumbai-Pune Expressway is open.

Kalyan still does not have electricity.

No traffic is permitted on the Film City Flyover on Western Express Highway because of waterlogging.

Availability of potable drinking water remains a problem in many areas of the city. 

Schools and colleges in Mumbai, Thane and Raigad are closed and several offices declared Monday a holiday.

Local Mumbai radio stations announced the closure of several offices this morning.

Traffic is sparse and moving reasonably smoothly in unflooded areas of Mumbai as residents, fearing a repeat of July 26, have stayed home. City authorities have asked residents to avoid stepping out of their homes.

Bus services are erratic and buses are mostly empty. Very few taxis and autorickshaws are plying.

Policeman have been posted all over the city. Traffic police are very much in evidence and are directing traffic to alternate routes.

BMC civic workers are very visible as well and are working at clearing clogged manholes and channels of drainage. 

Trains are running reasonably smoothly on the Western Railway line and are not very full. They are running erratically on the Central and Harbour lines. On the Harbour line trains are running from CST (formerly VT) to Andheri but the CST to Belapur service has been shut down. On the Central Railway line, they are running till Thane; the Thane-Kalyan line is closed.

Shops have not opened in many areas of the city.

Visibility at the airport has been fluctuating since morning. Jet Airways has curtailed 30 per cent of its flights. It has cancelled 34 of its scheduled 144 flights today. Jet Airways has announced on its web site that it has curtailed its Mumbai operations following directives from the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Air Sahara has cancelled its flights.

The water level at the Virar Lake is rising and this could affect the levels of the Mithi River. Naval boats are on standby. The Mithi River originates at Powai and meets the Arabian Sea at Mahim Creek, flowing through residential and industrial complexes of Powai, Saki Naka, Kalina, Vakola, Kurla and Mahim over a distance of about 15 km.