Two persons suffered minor injuries and five others were rescued after a portion of an old building collapsed at Grant Road on Wednesday. The incident occurred around 1 pm, when it was raining heavily. The wall of the second and the third floor of Adenwala Building collapsed. Two fire engines and an ambulance were rushed to the spot for the search and rescue operation, the BMC said. The injured persons were rushed to H N Reliance Hospital. The fire brigade rescued five other people, the BMC said. According to BMC officials, 20 families resided in the cessed MHADA building. They have been shifted to transit camps in the western suburbs.
Heavy rains and gusty winds lashed the city on Wednesday. There was water-logging and traffic snarls at various places. The Andheri Subway was shut for vehicular movement. The north-bound traffic on the Khar Subway was also closed due to the torrential rains on Wednesday. The Western Express Highway (WEH) reported traffic snarls near Andheri, Vile Parle and Santacruz. The subways were however opened after the water receded.
A traffic police official said that deployment of traffic police personnel was already in place at several junctions in the city. The Mumbai Police and BMC have requested citizens to stay away from the shore and not venture into water-logged areas. Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh said, “Stay updated and travel safe Mumbai. Venture out on the roads only if it’s very essential. For any traffic updates #Dial100 or tweet to @MumbaiPolice.” The Mumbai Police said on its Twitter handle stated that there was water-logging at Dadar Tram Terminus (TT), Hindmata Junction, Mahim Junction, SV Road near Andheri, Khar Subway, KFC Bandra and Chandivali Junction, along with SCLR bridge, Linking Road at Khar, Bandra; LJ Road, Khetwadi, Sion Road No. 24 and Gandhi Market. Moreover, the slip road at Hindmata was closed and traffic was diverted on Hindmata bridge due to waterlogging, but was resumed soon after the water subsided.
An irate motorist blamed the shoddy work of the roads department for reappearance of potholes on the WEH stretch just before Vakola, soon after it was repaired during the lockdown. A similar complaint was reported from the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, wherein potholes had limited the speed, causing traffic congestion.
A senior traffic policeman said, “We are tending to every distress call for traffic due to water-logging and sending a team to manage the situation.”
