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Mumbai, Monday, 08: The week began with mayhem for Mumbaikars, especially motorists after rain poured throughout the night leaving the roads flooded like every year. What was unexpected was the amount of rain that continued throughout the day making it impossible for motorists to even drive, forcing them to either get stranded on waterlogged roads or put in a request for work from home Monday.
It started with the most expected news Mumbaikars hear every monsoon season - “Due to heavy downpours, Hindmata Junction (Dadar) waterlogged while Andheri Subway closed,” which was announced first thing in the morning. These two manage to jam most central and western suburban routes.
This was followed by waterlogging at Saki Naka Metro station Peninsula Junction to Tilak Nagar in Andheri - with water levels reaching 1.5 to 2 feet. Soon later, Sainath Subway or Malad Subway was reported to be closed due to heavy waterlogging.
Other areas with traffic snarls are Eastern Freeway - in the morning but cleared by evening. Ram Nagar Subway in Vakola, Santacruz experienced slow-moving traffic due to a minor accident at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Road. In the eastern suburbs, a massive jam was reported near Amar Mahal Junction, Eastern Express Highway, going towards Bandra-Kurla Complex.
As the traffic was about to be cleared by evening, the torrential rain started to choke up the city again. It only got worse due to low visibility which motorists reported. “Vehicles tend to slow down when the visibility is low. This addition to water-logged roads affects the traffic movement significantly,” said a traffic police officer. Dadar, Parel, and Lower Parel areas reported extremely low visibilities, adding to this woe, Dadar T.T, Hindmata Junction, and King’s Circle Flyover - all located in the Dadar area - reported waterlogging leading to the closure of the first two spots.
Eastern Express Highway got cleared during the second half of the day except Bhandup and Mulund areas on the Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg - which connects Thane with Mumbai.
Surprisingly, South Mumbai or SoBo had fewer things to worry about which did not include vehicular traffic jams! “Most SoBo areas were clear except some areas in Breach Candy, and Peddar Road areas. Haji Ali Intersection was all clear, and Mumbai Coastal Road was clear as well. Near the Freeway, P D’Mello had some slow movement but with additional deployment, it was cleared. Eastern Freeway too was clear,” said a chief police officer from the Traffic Control Room. Andheri subway remained closed to traffic due to waterlogging.
