Mumbai: Parts of city experiences heavy rain, thunderstorms; public transport remains unaffected

Mumbai: The city and the metropolitan region was caught off guard because of the unseasonal rains that lashed the city on Tuesday morning. Moderate to heavy rains with thunderstorms and gusty winds lashed the island city for several hours.

The India Meteorological Department said that the westerly wind caused moisture incursion from Arabian sea which led to the spell. Usually, Mumbai does not witness rains in March.

Rainfall between 20-25 mm recorded

According to the news agency PTI, the BMC said some parts of Mumbai and its suburbs recorded up to 20-25 mm of rain between 7 am to 8 am.

The Central areas like Mondavi fire station, Memonwada fire station, Byculla fire station and BMC headquarters reported 28mm, 25mm, 23mm and 19mm rainfall respectively.

Mulund, Gavanpada, Bhandup Complex areas in the eastern suburban zone recorded 20mm and 19mm rainfall respectively between 6 am and 7 am; while the western suburbs like Dahisar, Chincholi reported 18mm and 14 mm rainfall respectively.

The authorities of BEST said that the bus services remained unaffected and that the bus routes were not changed due to rain or waterlogging.

Meanwhile, railway authorities said that the train services on the three suburban lines-- Main line, Harbour line and western line were running per routine.

"Heavy rain was reported in various sections of the Mumbai division, but trains are running smoothly," Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer of Central Railway told PTI.