Delhi, Mumbai grapple with monsoon havoc; 16 feared trapped in Pune collapse amid heavy rain

New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) Heavy monsoon rains battered large parts of the country on Wednesday, triggering flash floods and widespread disruption to rail and road traffic, with 16 people feared trapped under a collapsed garbage mound in Maharashtra's Pimpri Chinchwad and several parts of Delhi and Mumbai reeling under waterlogging. Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with the chief ministers of Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir to take stock of the situation arising from heavy rains there and assured them of all possible assistance from the Centre, officials said. The call comes after the debris collapse in Kerala's Wayanad, flash floods in Jammu's Doda, and deadly incidents and major disruptions reported from Maharashtra and Gujarat on Tuesday. The search for five missing people was still underway on Wednesday after a rain-soaked mound of excavated earth collapsed at a tunnel project site in Wayanad on Tuesday, while, after a brief respite, heavy rains accompanied by thunder returned to Mumbai, delaying local train services and causing inconvenience to office-goers. Long-distance train services towards Gujarat remained disrupted in Maharashtra due to waterlogging in the Vasai-Virar section in neighbouring Palghar district and at several locations in south Gujarat. Operations on the Mumbai–Pune route were also yet to be fully restored following landslides in the Bhor Ghat section. In the national capital, incessant torrential rains left several parts of the city waterlogged and slowed down traffic. The India Meteorological Department issued 'red' and 'orange' alerts, warning of thunderstorms and more rain over the next few hours. *** Rivers swell; train, road traffic paralysed in parts of Maharashtra *** Several parts of Maharashtra continued to grapple with the monsoon fury as rivers swelled up, train services were disrupted, and landslides and waterlogging incidents threatened people's safety. In Pune district's Pimpri Chinchwad, at least 16 people were feared trapped after a huge mound of garbage crashed onto a three-storey building, causing it to collapse, a senior official said. The incident occurred at Moshi, where the building was being used as an administrative office of a private company processing waste at the site on behalf of the civic body, he said. The water level in the Godavari river has increased amid incessant rains in Maharashtra’s Nashik district, while landslides and road closures have also been reported. The district administration has urged people living on the banks of Godavari, Kadva and Girna rivers to shift their valuables, livestock and other material to safer places amid the discharge of water from various reservoirs, including Palkhed and Nandur Madhmeshwar weir. Train services between Neral and Karjat stations in the Raigad district remained suspended for nearly an hour on Wednesday after the overflowing Ulhas river caused waterlogging on tracks, officials said. Swapnil Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer of Central Railway said the Ulhas river had been flowing above the danger level since 9.30 am amid heavy rains in the catchment areas. This led to the inundation of the tracks. In Mumbai, heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms returned after a brief respite, delaying suburban train services by 25-30 minutes and causing waterlogging in several areas. Civic officials said Tulsi Lake, one of Mumbai's seven drinking water reservoirs, started overflowing late on Tuesday night following heavy rainfall in its catchment area, hours after nearby Vihar Lake overflowed. The IMD has forecast intermittent light to moderate rainfall in Mumbai and its suburbs. The rain situation also echoed in the Maharashtra Assembly, where Speaker Rahul Narwekar and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray exchanged remarks over the "act of God" contention while the opposition demanded an immediate discussion on the rain-related situation in the state. Thackeray asked, "Will there be a debate on mangroves and forests being cut. Will you say this was an act of God?" *** Rain lashes Delhi, Rajasthan; flash floods in Himachal *** Rain soaked teh national capita, leaving several parts of the city waterlogged and slowing down traffic. The India Meteorological Department issued 'red' and 'orange' alerts, warning of thunderstorms and more rain over the next few hours. The IMD said thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and heavy rain were very likely over a few districts, and thunderstorms with light to moderate rain were likely over the other districts in the next few hours. Wind speeds are expected to reach 40 kmph. Several areas, including Sadar Bazar, Nasirpur, Greater Kailash, Badarpur, Teliwara, Mahavir Bazar, Swarup Nagar and Kushak Road, among others, were waterlogged. Pedestrians were seen wading through knee-high water in some places. Long queues of vehicles were seen on Rohtak Road, where traffic was almost brought to a standstill between Punjabi Bagh and Shadipur for several hours. The situation worsened as several two-wheeler riders took shelter from the rain under the elevated metro corridors, creating bottlenecks. The ITO intersection also witnessed traffic congestion. Commuters faced delays on Ring Road, Outer Ring Road and National Highway 48, particularly near Dhaula Kuan, Mahipalpur and Rajokri, due to reduced visibility and waterlogging. Heavy rain affected normal life in several districts of Rajasthan as the meteorological department forecast widespread rainfall conditions for the next two to three days. In Alwar, torrential rain in the morning inundated markets and roads. Water entered several residential colonies. Flash floods triggered by rains disrupted road connectivity in some parts of Rampur subdivision of Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla district as moderate rains continued to lash Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, officials said. A rise in water level following the floods damaged a temporary bridge over the Ganvi khad stream, blocking the link roads to the twin panchayats of Kyao and Kut and causing significant hardship to the local population. Videos of stranded commuters on both sides of the stream and locals making efforts to restore the path by removing the stones were circulated on social media. PTI TEAM PRK