Mumbai traffic back on track after heavy rains; schools closed after IMD alert
Mumbai (PTI): Vehicular and rail traffic in Mumbai resumed on Thursday, a day after heavy rains battered the city, inundating low-lying areas, halting local trains in their tracks and forcing the diversion of at least 14 incoming flights.
A 45-year-old woman drowned in a drain overflowing due to heavy rains in suburban Andheri on Wednesday, police said.
Rains stopped in most parts of the city on Thursday morning though skies were overcast.
Local trains, considered the lifeline of Mumbai, were running normally though some services were slightly delayed, as per officials.
Buses of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking also hit the roads since early morning.
The India Meteorological Department earlier issued a red alert for Mumbai and its adjoining districts Thane, Palghar, and Raigad for Thursday morning.
The civic body said the IMD has predicted "thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and heavy to very heavy rainfall with gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph" in its weather update issued at 8 am.
The extremely heavy rainfall in Mumbai on Wednesday prompted the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to announce a holiday for all schools and colleges on Thursday.
Schools and colleges in Thane, Palghar, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad were also closed on Thursday after heavy rains.
The Mumbai civic body and police have advised people in the city and surrounding areas to stay indoors as much as possible.
“Mumbaikars, if not required, avoid stepping out of home,” the BMC posted on X.
After heavy rains on Wednesday, some roads, including in Sonapur area of Bhandup, virtually turned into rivers of fast-moving water as several areas received more than 100 mm of rain in five hours of evening.
The Ghatkopar-Andheri Road, Khairani Road, LBS Marg and a few other roads were flooded with chest-deep water at some locations.
Many people complained their belongings were damaged as water had entered their homes.
As local trains stopped on Wednesday between Kurla and Thane stations on the Central line, thousands of commuters were stranded at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai and other stations, while there were traffic jams at various places.
The Central Railway's suburban services were thrown out of gear at night for a few hours, when the railway tracks got submerged at a few locations between Sion and Thane stations on its main corridor and between Chunabhatti and Mankhurd stations on the Harbour corridor.
A Maharashtra Security Force personnel deputed at Kalachowki police station told PTI that he boarded a fast train from Thane station for Byculla (in Mumbai) at 8 pm on Wednesday and reached Chinchpokli station at 12.55 am (normally covered in 45 minutes).
The Mithi river along with other water bodies and drains had swelled after extremely heavy rains.
On Wednesday night, the Mithi river rose to its maximum level of 3.90 metres. On Thursday morning, it was flowing at 1.5 metres, the BMC said.
In the 24 hour-period ending at 8 am on Thursday, the island city, eastern suburbs and western suburbs recorded 117.18 mm, 170.58 mm and 108.75 mm rainfall, respectively.
Between 5 pm and 10 pm, the island city, eastern suburbs and western suburbs received 87.79 mm, 167.48 mm, and 95.57 mm downpour, respectively.
Mankhurd and Powai areas in eastern suburbs recorded more than 275 mm rains during the period, as per BMC data.
Mumbai municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani has asked all assistant commissioners to ensure that respective executive engineers stay put in ward control rooms.
Central Railway's chief public relations officer Swapnil Nila said, "All local trains are running normally. On the main line 3-4 minutes behind schedule because of rescheduled Mail, Express (train) movements and few cautions. Rest all normal."
Western Railway's suburban services, which were mostly unaffected as there was no waterlogging on tracks anywhere between Churchgate and Virar stations, were also running normally since morning, an official said.
A BEST spokesperson also said their operations were normal, though 28 buses, including seven hired from private contractors, broke down due to waterlogging at some roads in the city.
UP CM Yogi & BJP shockingly think they're above the Supreme Court.
— Saket Gokhale MP (@SaketGokhale) September 26, 2024
In a brazen disobedience of SC orders, UP CM Yogi again gave oral directions this week to the govt of UP to pass a rule requiring owners of restaurants and shops to display the names of owners & staff.
His… pic.twitter.com/t3NQYSIIue
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
