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Mumbai rains: Religious places open doors for those stranded



 
© Provided by Indian Express The MMOPL spokesperson denied the absence of the guards. Akhtar Raza realised he may never reach home on Tuesday night until he read one of the forwarded messages from Jamat Raza-e-Mustafa and randomly called a member for help. Volunteer Mohammed Ahmed (34) immediately rode his bike from Ghatkopar to Saki Naka to pick Raza up and drop him at his home in Kurla.
“Cars and buses are getting stranded. But on a bike it is easier to navigate,” Ahmed said. Like Ahmed, another volunteer, Worli resident Aarif Khan(29) was answering calls through the day from strangers stranded in waist-deep water. He took seven people home on his bike, one by one.

“A group of five tourists from Ahmedabad who had come for Lalbaugcha Raja’s darshan were stuck in Worli. They had missed their train to Ahmedabad. I asked Madina masjid to accommodate them. In such times, nobody looks at religion,” Khan said over the phone, not long after dropping off a couple in Bawla Masjid, Worli, for an overnight stay. Mosques, gurdwaras and temples in the city opened their doors to stranded people of all faiths through Tuesday and also for the night.
The Diocesan Pastoral Center, opposite Mount Mary church in Bandra, provided free food and stay to people stranded in that area. In the three-storey Chishti Hindustani Mosque in Central Mumbai’s Byculla, over 500 people from CST railway station and nearby areas came to take shelter on Tuesday night, all belonging to various religious groups. Donors pooled in to arrange a simple dal-chawal dinner for everyone. “We saw women stranded at railway stations, children crying in rain and decided our premise was big enough to give shelter to hundreds,” said Maulana Abdul Jabbar.

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The mosque made announcements over loudspeakers, garnering support from several locals who pitched in to arrange for food and essentials. “We arranged 20 tempos to get people from different locations till the mosque,” the maulana added. People from as far as Kalyan, Borivali and Thane spent the night at the mosque — Hindus, Christians and Muslims, all damp and tired, sharing the same space.
“Every one is helping everyone here. So many volunteers turned up at the mosque. Nobody is asking a person’s name before helping,” said volunteer Tejas Ojha, a Byculla resident. Mangala Janardhan Survade, a Govandi resident, visits Byculla everyday where she works as domestic help, along with four other women.
In Pics: Mumbai rains bring the city to a grinding halt
  • Slide 1 of 9: Heavy rain led to majority of areas in Mumbai city getting flooded. The downpour led to waterlogging at locations such as Hindmata, Lalbaug, GTB Nagar, Sion, Mulund and low lying areas in Khar, Parel, Worli, Matunga and Dadar TT.(Express Photo by Dipti Singh)
  • Slide 2 of 9: Mumbai suburbs (as per Santacruz weather station) recorded 86 mm rainfall between 8.30 am to 11.30 am on Tuesday. As per IMD, more than 65 mm rainfall in 24 hours is considered heavy rainfall. (Express Photo by Rashi Chandra Rajput)
  • Slide 3 of 9: The rain also led to traffic snarls, delayed trains and flights. Mumbai Airport officials also confirmed that many flights were delayed by up to 20 minutes, with some flights asked to ‘go-around’ or delay landing. At least two flights were diverted to other nearest airports. (Express Photo by Dipti Singh)
  • Slide 4 of 9: Government officials said the rainfall over Monday night and Tuesday have severely affected the city’s lifeline and the suburban railway services. More than 70 lakh commuters use the Mumbai local train services daily. (Express Photo by Dipti Singh)   
Slide 1 of 9: Heavy rain led to majority of areas in Mumbai city getting flooded. The downpour led to waterlogging at locations such as Hindmata, Lalbaug, GTB Nagar, Sion, Mulund and low lying areas in Khar, Parel, Worli, Matunga and Dadar TT.(Express Photo by Dipti Si

Mumbai rains bring the city to a grinding halt, roads inundated, train services hit
Heavy rain led to majority of areas in Mumbai city getting flooded. The downpour led to waterlogging at locations such as Hindmata, Lalbaug, GTB Nagar, Sion, Mulund and low lying areas in Khar, Parel, Worli, Matunga and Dadar TT.(Express Photo by Dipti Singh)                      
  Mumbai suburbs (as per Santacruz weather station) recorded 86 mm rainfall between 8.30 am to 11.30 am on Tuesday. As per IMD, more than 65 mm rainfall in 24 hours is considered heavy rainfall. (Express Photo by Rashi Chandra Rajput)                                    

3/9 SLIDES © Provided by Indian Express Slideshows

Mumbai rains bring the city to a grinding halt, roads inundated, train services hit

The rain also led to traffic snarls, delayed trains and flights. Mumbai Airport officials also confirmed that many flights were delayed by up to 20 minutes, with some flights asked to ‘go-around’ or delay landing. At least two flights were diverted to other nearest airports. (Express Photo by Dipti Singh)                                 

Government officials said the rainfall over Monday night and Tuesday have severely affected the city’s lifeline and the suburban railway services. More than 70 lakh commuters use the Mumbai local train services daily. (Express Photo by Dipti Singh)                                    

5/9 SLIDES © Provided by Indian Express Slideshows

The Central railway services are running over an hour late due to excessive rain on the tracks in Mumbai. While Western railway has had to shut its services at Bandra due waterlogging on the tracks. All Western railway trains from Bandra towards the city have been stopped. The Harbour line services have been delayed by over half an hour.   

Mumbai rains bring the city to a grinding halt, roads inundated, train services hit


Deputy director general (western region) of India Meteorological Department, KS Hosalikar, said, “The circulation of low pressure area from south-west Madhya Pradesh moving westward is likely to intensify into depression and that is likely to give heavy rainfall in Madhya Maharashtra.” (Express Photo by Dipti Singh)

7/9 SLIDES © Provided by Indian Express Slideshows

Mumbai rains bring the city to a grinding halt, roads inundated, train services hit


Water enters compound of all buildings near Gandhi market. (Express Photo: Arita Sarkar)

8/9 SLIDES © Provided by Indian Express Slideshows

Mumbai rains bring the city to a grinding halt, roads inundated, train services hit


Torrential rains also caused a part of compound wall at Chuna bhatti railway station to collapse. (Express Photo by Dipti Singh)

9/9 SLIDES © Provided by Indian Express Slideshows

Mumbai rains bring the city to a grinding halt, roads inundated, train services hit


Wards, corridors and dormitories of King Edward Memorial Hospital were also flooded due the heavy rains, making doctors worry about infection control. Seen here: The pediatric ward of the hospital is filled with water. (Express Photo by Dipti Singh)

9/9 SLIDES
(Pics by the Indian Express)
On Tuesday, they waited at Byculla station for an hour, in vain. “I have never entered a mosque before. None of us has. These people came and asked if we needed help,” she said. Her friend Sheetal Sonawane added, “Humanity rises during tough hours.”
In Govandi’s Shia mosque in Lotus Colony, over 15 people took shelter in the late evening hours. “People are coming and going. We are providing them food,” said joint secretary of the mosque, Haider Abbas. At St Michael’s Church in Mahim and in at Holy Family church in Chakala too, the stranded taking shelter were all just weary Mumbaiites, of all faiths.