Mumbai is at it again. This is the second time in a few years, when rains can bring this city to its knees. The rains kill people, and every type of commerce/transportation comes to a complete halt. (This is the worst time for NRAs to get a Mumbai stop over - a word of advice - take the Delhi route in the Summer (no fog), and the Mumbai during the Winter).
Its a shame, that this city boasts as the premier city in India. Basically, it is just overrated, and totally and completely corrupt such that its drainage/flood protection system has been totally compromised. In many ways it is the New Orleans of India. Maybe its the financial capital of India, but for all practical purposes it a 3rd rate city pretending to pass off as first class. --Ram *Kiran Wadhwa <http://hindustantimes.com/Search/Search.aspx?q=Kiran Wadhwa&nodate=1>, Hindustan Times* Email Author <[EMAIL PROTECTED] ravage Maharashtra, five killed in Mumbai> Mumbai, June 30, 2007 First Published: 22:05 IST(30/6/2007) Last Updated: 04:05 IST(1/7/2007) Rains ravage Maharashtra, five killed in Mumbai Rain brought Mumbai to its knees on Saturday, killing five people, making thousands homeless, shutting down the airport, halting suburban trains and flooding streets. Elsewhere in the state, 11 people were killed. By evening, India's resilient financial capital was coming to terms with the incessant pummelling it had received through the day. The trains were running. Flights had resumed. People were wading through roads that had earlier been under five feet of water. And the traffic was back. More rain is forecast for Sunday. Two people drowned. A young man was electrocuted in the eastern suburbs. In Bhandup, one person was washed away in the swirling waters. A collapsed wall killed another. In Zari Mari in Kurla, an overflowing Mithi river submerged over 600 shanties along its bank; 1,500 people had to be evacuated from their homes along the banks of the river. This was one of the worst-hit areas during the 26/7 floods. In 36 hours starting Friday 8.30 am, Colaba recorded 197 mm of rain and Santacruz 341 mm. On Saturday, there was 256 mm of rain in the suburbs within nine hours. In Powai, it rained 200 mm in four hours. On July 26, 2005, the day of the deluge, there had been 944 mm of rainfall. "Mumbai's drains at present can handle up to 40 mm of rain in an hour," said civic chief Jairaj Phatak. This capacity will go up to 90 mm an hour once the widening of Mumbai's ancient drainage system is complete in two years. Flooding occurs because bursts of rain far exceed 40 mm an hour. Even if these spells last just a couple of hours, the excess water piles up and subsequent, not-as-heavy rain adds pressure to the drains. Mumbai saw how that happens on Saturday. The city woke up to leaden skies and curtains of rain. By noon, Lower Parel, Worli, Dadar and Bhandup were under water. The power supply was cut off from many areas. Trains on the Central line — the lifeline of this metropolis of 1.6 crore people — had stopped running. So had the Harbour line. The Western line saw severe delays. Several long-distance trains were cancelled. A high tide seemed imminent in the afternoon and BMC sounded an alert. "We have asked people to stay in until evening," said Pathak. The airport was closed between 11.45 am and 1 pm. Thirty-six flights were cancelled and 27 diverted. By evening, flights had resumed, but there were severe delays. There is likely to be a shortage of vegetables in the city on Sunday and Monday. The torrential rains that the city experienced on Saturday led to nearly 150 trees falling in various parts of Mumbai. *(Inputs from Debasish Panigrahi, Uma Upadhyaya, Soubhik Mitra, Rajendra Aklekar and Presley Thomas)* * http://hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=5f36ce4e-a58a-46ac-9631-dd7558a546b5 *<http://hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=5f36ce4e-a58a-46ac-9631-dd7558a546b5#> (c) Copyright 2007 Hindustan Times
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