All government and semi-government offices in Mumbai will remain closed on Tuesday in view of the continuous heavy rains in the city and suburbs and the 'red alert' issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. The civic body also appealed to all private establishments across Mumbai to allow their employees to work from home and avoid unnecessary travel.
It said that the decision applies to all BMC offices and state-run establishments, excluding essential services.
The BMC in a statement on Tuesday morning said, "Considering the red alert for very heavy rainfall in Mumbai city and suburbs, all government, semi-government, and BMC offices (excluding essential services) will remain closed today."
Red alert in Mumbai and its suburbs
Mumbai and nearby areas have been hit by non-stop heavy rain for the past four days, causing major traffic jams, waterlogging in many places, and several deaths. The IMD has issued a red alert for Tuesday, warning of very heavy rainfall in Mumbai, Palghar, Thane, and Raigad. In the forecast for Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted "very heavy to extremely heavy" rainfall in the city and suburbs of Mumbai with occasional gusty winds reaching 45-55 kmph.
As a safety measure, the authorities have announced that all schools and colleges in the city will remain closed for the day.
In the 24-hour period ending at 8 am on Tuesday, the island city, eastern and western suburbs recorded an average rainfall of 186.43 mm, 208.78 mm and 238.19 mm, respectively, an official said. Rainfall during the early morning hours and late evening could lead to traffic snarls as there was 3.75 metre high tide at 9.16 am and of 3.14 metres to occur at 8.53 pm.
Waterlogging reported in several parts of Mumbai
Heavy rains in Mumbai have led to waterlogging in several low-lying areas, including Dadar, Matunga, Parel, Sion, Hindmata, Andheri Subway, parts of the Eastern Express Highway, Mumbai-Gujarat highway, and the Eastern Freeway.
Though railway authorities said the water level was below the tracks and train movement wasn’t stopped, services were delayed. A technical snag in the signalling system between Ambivali and Shahad further worsened the situation in the morning.
As of 8 am, Central Railway trains were delayed by about 10 minutes on the main line and 5 minutes on the harbour line, while Western Railway suburban trains were also running late due to poor visibility.
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