Citing Drought, BJP Lawmaker Wants Rain Dance Banned In Mumbai This Holi

A BJP legislator in Mumbai has written to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Commissioner (BMC) seeking a ban on "rain dance" functions in the metro during the festival of Holi.

Mumbai and some other parts of Maharashtra today experienced light rains, bringing down the mercury.

Unexpected rains in the wee hours of Friday took Mumbaikars by surprise, as people flooded social media early in the morning by posting pictures and welcoming the showers.

As Mumbai city and the surrounding areas received brief showers this evening, the Met department has forecast unseasonal rains and hailstorms in the central Maharashtra and Marathwada over the next two days.

A row of shops caught fire in Mumbai's Bandra today. The blaze reportedly began at a shoe store on Linking Road. Because leather and plastic items caught fire, the flames spread quickly, said fire safety officials.

Heavy rains has been lashing Mumbai and surrounding areas since last night and has led to suburban train services, on both Central and Western lines, being delayed since morning.

Trains in Mumbai were running at least 25 minutes late on Tuesday morning because of incessant rain.

The monsoon woes of Mumbaikars continued on Tuesday morning as train services on the Central line were disrupted after an overhead wire snapped near Dadar railway station.

Landslides triggered by heavy rain has blocked the Mumbai-Pune Expressway stopping vehicular traffic. Landslides have been reported at a few places including Dabhol Village in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra; efforts are on to clear the highway.

Friday's flooding of Mumbai has brought the focus back on BRIMSTOWAD, the BrihanMumbai Storm Water Disposal System, which has seen cost escalation and delays. Under the system, launched after the disastrous 2005 floods, the government plans to upgrade the city's 100-year-old drainage system and construct new pumping stations.

As torrential rains pummelled Mumbai, the 24x7 helpline number of the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) has not stopped ringing since the last two days with civic officials working overtime attending to complaints of water-logging and traffic woes across the metropolis.

Operations at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai were hit this evening following a snag in radar.

Around 80 per cent of the 3.5 lakh shops in the city remained shut on Friday, the day when Mumbai came to a standstill thanks to the incessant rainfall. If industry members are to be believed, the losses would have reached Rs 500 crore by Friday.

After 15 days' worth of rain on Friday left Mumbai battered and struggling to cope, the city is slowly returning to normalcy today. With just a light drizzle this morning, water has started to recede from the roads, and many people can be seen on the streets. Train services, which were badly hit due to waterlogging yesterday, have resumed.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp proved a boon today for several stranded commuters, helping them get real-time traffic and train updates, and instant car-pooling offers to reach their destinations in the wake of torrential rains in the city.

Following Meteorological Department's predictions of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours, Maharashtra government today announced that all schools and colleges will remain closed on Saturday in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane district.

A boy has gone missing after he fell into a nullah at Mankhurd gaon in suburban Mumbai, prompting authorities to launch a search to trace him.

Heavy rains on Friday lashed parts of the western coast, especially Mumbai and Konkan areas, even as the Southwest Monsoon showed no signs of advancement over the past six days.

Indian Navy, Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been put on standby after heavy rains in Mumbai brought life to a standstill. Sea King helicopters too remain on standby at the naval base in Colaba. Schools have been advised to stay shut by the municipal corporation.

Even as incessant rains continue to wreck havoc on Mumbai amidst a flurry of high tides, Yuva Sena Chief Aditya Thackeray today said Mithi river was around the danger mark and asked people to cooperate with authorities in case of an emergency.

With the incessant rains halting the city's lifeline local trains, many office-goers today bicycled to work, calling it the best alternative to reach their destinations in time.

The people of Mumbai have been asked to stay at home today as well after 15 days' worth of rain on Friday left the city battered and struggling to cope. Large parts India's financial capital were flooded and trains, buses and flights were badly hit yesterday.

Heavy rains today lashed parts of the western coast, especially Mumbai and Konkan areas, and are expected to continue for the next couple of days.

Struggling with flooded roads and traffic chaos after heavy rain, the people of Mumbai took to social media to express their anger and reach out to those in trouble.