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Mumbai Rains: Waterlogging, Severe Traffic Jams Trigger Outrage Among Activists And Citizens Over Authorities’ Failures Despite Crore-Worth Investments

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Mumbai: Nearly two decades ago, Mumbaikars endured a nightmare that still lingers in their memories. Despite investing several crores of rupees, the city remains plagued by persistent waterlogging and severe traffic disruptions.

Last Wednesday, this ongoing issue came to a head, prompting backlash from activists, citizens’ associations, and former corporators who condemned the civic body for its repeated failures.

This Friday was no exception, as heavy rainfall continued from Thursday night, leading to widespread waterlogging and significant traffic disruptions across major routes. Multiple vehicle breakdowns exacerbated the traffic jams, particularly in the central and western suburbs.

As per data received from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) the city has received more than its monthly average rainfall in just five days of rainfall that began on September 23. During this period, the city recorded 393 mm of rain from September 23 to 27, exceeding the monthly average of 359.6 mm.

This significant rainfall also pushed the total seasonal precipitation past 3,000 mm, with the Santacruz observatory recording 3,016 mm as of the morning of September 27.

On Friday, One of the major disruptions occurred at the Andheri subway, which was closed after it became heavily waterlogged. This forced traffic authorities to divert vehicles to the Gokhale Bridge. Several vehicles broke down in the area, exacerbating the already dire traffic situation.

The day began with a major traffic jam at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) connector caused by a BEST bus breakdown, worsening congestion amid peak-hour traffic and the closure of the Sion Road Over Bridge (ROB).

As rainfall intensified in the western suburbs, waterlogging in areas like Andheri led to the subway’s closure. The Eastern Freeway experienced water accumulation and low visibility, significantly slowing traffic and impacting movements in the eastern suburbs and South Mumbai, including P. D’Mello Road.

Mumbai Traffic Police reported additional disruptions across the city, including delays at Aarey Bridge due to a tempo breakdown, Marine Plaza in South Mumbai from a bus breakdown, and Airoli Bridge from a car breakdown.

Other blockages were reported at Sion Hospital Road from a fallen tree, Dindoshi on Altamount Road due to a vehicle breakdown, and the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road, where another vehicle broke down. 

Meanwhile, recent rainfall has led to the identification of several new flooding hotspots, including Mankhurd, Govandi, Godrej Jetty in Vikhroli East, Bhandup and Powai.

Civic data reveals that Mankhurd recorded an astonishing 276.20 mm of rain between 6 pm and 10 pm on Wednesday, while Bhandup received 198.39 mm. The average rainfall in the eastern suburbs during this period was 167.48 mm.

Overflowing drains also caused waterlogging on the railway tracks severely affecting Central and Harbour Railway services. Reflecting on the past, activists noted that on July 26, 2005, the city was overwhelmed by 944 mm of rainfall in just 24 hours.

Today, even a mere 200 mm can result in flooding. The rampant concretisation has destroyed natural drainage systems, leaving no place for rainwater to go. Additionally, construction debris and garbage dumped in nullahs continue to choke stormwater drains, worsening the situation, activists expressed.

The civic body claimed that around 300 dewatering pumps were activated on Wednesday. However, sources noted that many of these pumps were unable to handle the water pressure and failed to recede rainwater quickly.

Former Opposition leader Ravi Raja expressed his frustration, stating, “Shame on the BMC for their failure to properly cover nullahs or fix manholes. They have squandered hundreds of crores yet still fail to fulfill their responsibilities. The annual spending on desilting work is merely eyewash—public money goes down the drain.”

The Andheri subway has been shut down multiple times this monsoon. Dhaval Shah, founder of the Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens Association, added, “The narrowing of the nullah has obstructed water flow. The BMC doesn’t need to implement fancy solutions; they simply need to remove encroachments near Mogra nullah.”

Activist Godfrey Pimenta expressed concern, stating, “Despite substantial taxpayer investments in infrastructure, the situation is deteriorating. We’re witnessing the alarming collapse of bridges, flooding in subways, crumbling buildings, and frequent fire incidents. It’s clear that the BMC has failed to fulfill its mandate for effective civic management.”

Environmental activist Zoru Bhathena added, “In 2005, the city experienced exceptional rainfall of 944 mm, but now even 200 mm leads to waterlogging in several areas. It’s shameful that the situation hasn’t improved. Rainwater should be absorbed by the ground, with excess flowing into the drains. The BMC spends crores annually on drains and concrete, but where will the water go?”.

Meanwhile, a senior civic official, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted, “The IMD issued a red alert at 5:40 PM on Wednesday, but heavy rain had already started, and commuters were heading home. When we pump out water, it should go into the stormwater drains; however, the nallahs and drains were overflowing, leaving us unable to dispose of the excess water. In recent years, we’ve seen changing rainfall patterns, resulting in record levels of rain in specific areas.”

The official added that coastal cities like Mumbai are increasingly vulnerable due to extensive concretisation, which limits natural drainage and reduces water absorption capacity. “The stormwater drains in the suburbs can handle around 50 mm of rain per hour, while the island city has underground drains. We are currently identifying new flooding spots alongside the existing ones, and our officials will inspect each site to determine remedial measures,” he added.

Maharashtra

Bihar’s crores thief Aamir Kabir arrested from Mumbai

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Mumbai: Mumbai Malad Police has arrested a clever prince thief who used to disguise himself as a woman to escape from the police and used railway tracks to avoid CCTV cameras. Malad Police has seized a gold melting machine, 36 tolas of gold and silver jewellery, women’s clothes and cash from the thief. Police investigation has revealed that the accused thief has many bungalows and flats. He was committing such thefts for a long time, but was not caught yet. However, he has committed dozens of such thefts so far. Malad Police has arrested Prince Aamir Kabir thief after a lot of hard work and further investigation is on.

According to ACP Hemant Sawant of Malad Division, the clever accused Ranjeet Kumar Upendra alias Munna (44) is a resident of Babuganj in Bihar. He was arrested from Malad Malwani area. To escape from the police, the accused used to steal by disguising himself as a woman and sometimes used to walk on the railway track in the guise of a beggar to steal. According to senior Malad police officer Vijay Panhale, property worth about 57 lakhs has been seized from the accused, which includes 16 lakh cash deposited in the bank and jewelry and goods worth 41 lakhs. So far 8 cases have been registered against this clever thief, but he has not been arrested anywhere.

This disclosure has been made after the team of Malad Police Station’s investigating officer Tushar Sukhdev, Santosh Satwase, Amit Govind, Avinash Jadhav, constable Mahesh Doifode examined more than 150 CCTV cameras from the railway track and other places. The police is expecting more such serious revelations as the accused has been cleverly escaping from the spot while committing countless such crimes for the last 10 years and has become the owner of flats, land and bungalows worth crores.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai: 3 arrested for fraud in the name of providing gold at cheap price

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Mumbai: Mumbai Police has busted a gang that claimed to import gold from abroad and provide gold to people at cheap prices by becoming a self-styled police. The police have claimed to have arrested three members of this gang – according to the details, they gained the trust of the complainant by promising to import pure gold from abroad and sell it at a low price. It may be noted that the accused cheated the complainant by calling him Rs 2 lakh in cash and disguising himself as a police officer on May 27, 2025 at around 3:30 pm at BMW Showroom, CST Road, Kalina, Santa Cruz East Mumbai and not giving the gold to the complainant. The police have registered a case of cheating in this case.

During the search for the accused in this crime, information was received from technical investigation and confidential informant that the said accused was going to come to CST Road, Kalina, Santa Cruz Mumbai on June 2. Accordingly, the BKC Police Station Crime Detection Team had laid a trap at the said place. When the accused CST reached there around 4 pm, the police team identified the accused and kept an eye on him. However, as soon as they suspected the matter, the accused fled from Kurla and got into his motor car parked in front of the BMW showroom. The said motor car and the accused were chased by the police team. At that time, the said accused and his accomplices fled the car leaving the car on the road. The police team chased the accused who had snatched the motor car and out of the 04 accused who were riding in the motor car, 3 accused were arrested and arrested at different places.

The arrested 3 accused are criminals and criminal cases are registered against them in different police stations.
The identity of the accused whom the police have arrested in this case is, Muhammad Mohsin Abu Bilal Chaudhary, 33 years old, against him, Other cases including cheating are registered in BKC, Nowghar, Ghatkopar.
Cases have been registered against Tabrez Younis Qureshi, 39, at BKC, Gujrat, and Nowghar police stations. Cases have been registered against Pradeep Dadaram Thorat, 37, at BKC, Parghar police stations, including cases of assault and violence. DCP Manish Kalaniya has not ruled out further arrests in this case and the police are hopeful of more revelations in the investigation. DCP Manish said that this group used to cheat under the guise of providing gold. The investigation is also underway to find out how many people this group has fooled and cheated through this method so far and the investigation is underway under the guidance of senior officers.

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Maharashtra

The decision to keep cattle markets closed on Eid-ul-Azha in Maharashtra was withdrawn

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Mumbai: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has also withdrawn the proposal to ensure peace and order on Eid-ul-Adha in Mumbai and to keep the cattle market closed. Earlier, a proposal was made to keep the cattle market closed during Eid-ul-Adha, which was opposed by Muslims, and after that, this decision has also been withdrawn. Before Eid-ul-Adha in Mumbai, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has issued necessary orders for Eid-ul-Adha in a peaceful atmosphere. In a meeting of Muslim representatives, the Chief Minister accepted all the demands of Muslims and assured them of taking necessary steps during the sacrifice, from providing facilities at the goat market in Deonar to providing necessary facilities. Abu Asim Azmi said that BJP leaders Kirit Somaiya and Nitish Rane are trying to spoil the atmosphere.

They are announcing that there will be no sacrifice to put pressure on the society, but this demand was also made to the Chief Minister that there should be no obstruction in the process of sacrifice in those societies where sacrifice is done. Muslim representatives also demanded to keep an eye on the mischief of miscreants during the sacrifice and take necessary action against anti-social elements. The Chief Minister assured that like every year, the sacrifice process will end peacefully this year too. He has accepted all the demands of the Muslims and given special consideration to every issue. Abu Asim Azmi said that there is a need to curb the mischief of miscreants during the sacrifice so that the situation remains peaceful. Instructions have also been given that animal traders in Deonar do not face any kind of problem. At the same time, the distress of the traders due to the animals’ carts not being emptied for 36 hours was also discussed. The Chief Minister has also banned the collection of additional fees.

In an important meeting, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured that like every year, facilities will be provided on Eid-ul-Adha this time too, and peace and order will be maintained. The proposal to close the animal market was withdrawn and the fee for sacrificial animals was reduced from Rs 200 to Rs 20. The Chief Minister also issued an order to take action against those involved in corruption. Those spreading hatred are trying to spoil the atmosphere on Eid by creating Hindu-Muslim differences. Azmi has also demanded a ban on the language of these sectarians. The Chief Minister has directed to pay special attention to maintaining order during the sacrifice.

Abu Asim Azmi told the Chief Minister that an additional fee was collected for emptying the animal cart, Rs. 500 instead of Rs. 200, Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 5,000 was collected for parking, the fee of the goat of the trader who is not sold during Eid-ul-Adha should be refunded, earlier the fee of the goat for deonar was Rs. 20, it should be increased to Rs. 200, five gates and five push gates should be set up for unloading the goat in deonar, along with this, there is a rush of buyers during the sacrifice, three windows should be started for the convenience of the customers, the Chief Minister approved all these demands and issued necessary orders.

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