The trend would continue for next 48 hours, the official said. The BMC has deployed high capacity water pumps to discharge water from streets in Byculla, Bhandup and some other areas, a civic official said. The civic body appealed to commercial and business establishments, except those involved in essential services, to remain shut in view of the heavy downpour. “Residents should also stay at home and avoid venturing out, the BMC said in a statement. People are advised not to go near beaches and other low lying areas as a high tide of 4.51 meters is expected in Mumbai at 12:47pm today. Though Mumbai had been receiving intermittent rainfall, forecasting agencies said this would be the second spell of heavy rainfall this monsoon after a gap of a fortnight. Mumbai today woke up to waterlogging in several low-lying areas as well as heavy showers. Bus services and local trains have also been affected due to the rains, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
On the east coast, the India Meteorological Department’s Odisha centre said a low-pressure area was developing over north Bay of Bengal under the influence of a cyclonic circulation over Gangetic West Bengal and another one over northeast Bay of Bengal. It will bring heavy rainfall to several parts of the state between Tuesday and Thursday. The IMD advised fishermen to not venture deep into the Bay of Bengal till August 6 as surface winds with speeds up to 50 kmph will make the sea conditions very rough. The low-pressure area is likely to trigger heavy rainfall and thunderstorms in parts of Madhya Pradesh, too, where the monsoon activity has remained subdued so far.
In north India, a sultry weather prevailed in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana as the axis of the monsoon trough, which was active over the region last week, shifted southwards. The trough is now passing Ganganagar and Pilani in Rajasthan, through Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh and Banda in Uttar Pradesh, towards Beharampur in West Bengal and Mizoram and Meghalaya. Under its influence, several areas in Rajasthan were lashed by rain since Sunday. Jaipur, Tonk, Bhilwara and Pilani recorded 34.8, 7, 2 and 3.1 mm rainfall, respectively, in the past 24 hours till Monday evening, according to the local meteorological centre.
More than 800 villages in 15 districts have been inundated in Uttar Pradesh due to swelling of Sarayu and Rapti rivers, state minister Anil Rajbhar said. He said embankments had been breached in Gonda, Azamgarh and efforts were on to seal them. As many as 188 medical teams and 16 disaster response and provincial constabulary teams have been deployed for rescue operations.
