Mumbai: In a tragic incident during heavy rains on September 25, a woman lost her life after falling into a rainwater drain in the Seepz area of Andheri (East). In response, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani has ordered a high-level inquiry into the matter.

A three-member committee has been appointed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and submit a detailed report within three days.

The inquiry committee will be chaired by Deputy Commissioner of Circle 3, Devidas Kshirsagar, with Chief Fire Officer Ravindra Ambulgekar and Chief Engineer (Vigilance) Avinash Tambewagh as the other two members. The committee is tasked with conducting a thorough investigation into the fatal accident and identifying any lapses that may have contributed to the tragedy.

What Exactly Happened

In the aftermath of heavy rains in Mumbai on Wednesday night, a 45-year-old lady Vimal Gaikwad drowned in an open drain in the MIDC area of Andheri. She was rescued by the Mumbai fire brigade and sent to Cooper Hospital but was declared brought dead by doctors.

Apart from high-level inquiry by the municipal corporation in the incident, the Mumbai police have also registered an Accidental Death Report, Mangesh Shinde, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 12) said.

Mumbai: Amid heavy rainfall, the Mumbai Metro had an significant achievement. The Metro 2A and 7 Lines connecting Andheri to Dahisar surpassed highest daily ridership, reaching to 2,87,073 number of passengers the Maha Mumbai Metro Operations Corporation Limited (MMOCL) informed on Thursday.

“We are thrilled to share that Maha Mumbai Metro has proudly surpassed highest daily ridership, reaching an incredible 2,87,073 passengers on Mumbai Metro Line 2A & 7! Even amidst heavy rain, Maha Mumbai Metro remained your steadfast companion, ensuring seamless journeys for all.” the MMOCL posted on its official X handle.

MMOCL also said that it operated two extra services one each from Gundavali & Andheri West, whereas, Monorail operated six services to accommodate and effectively manage the surge in ridership.

However, the activist continue to highlight that the ridership of Mumbai Metro is at least 50 per cent less than planned and expected by the authorities.

In August this year, Mumbai’s first Metro line- the Ghatkopar-Andheri-Versova route achieved a record of carrying more thann 500,000 commuters in a single day. On August 13, 2024, Mumbai Metro One carried 500,385 commuters, surpassing the pre-covid ridership, the authorities informed.

“This is the first time ridership of Mumbai Metro One has crossed milestone figure of 500,000 without impact of external factors. There is only one occasion when ridership of Mumbai Metro One had crossed 5 lakh when BEST buses went on strike for 9 days (8 January to 16 January 2019)”, the Metro One had said in its press statement.

Mumbai: The island city was lashed with extremely heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on Wednesday night, resulting in train services, road traffic disruptions and severe water logging in all low-lying areas in the metropolis. Among the localities flooded, was the underpass in the Aarey milk colony built by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) in 2022. The newly constructed subway next to the Metro 3 carshed raised questions among citizens if Metro rail tracks will flood in future.

The soon to be inaugurated Metro 3 which passes through Aarey is called as Aqua Line. The subway on the Marol road at Picnic Point is designed and built by the MMRCL below the Aqua Line Metro 3 for the motorists to reach other side of the Metro line. It was constructed in 2022.

The subway was closed by the authorities on Wednesday evening to night due to waterlogging, keeping the passersby stranded. The flooded underpass not only raised doubts among the citizens on the construction of Metro carshed at Aarey but people also trolled the authorities.

Mocking the authorities neitizens said that the MMRCL has lived upto to their words calling it Aqua line.

Neitizen called Kartik Bahadur said, “They did promise aqua, and they have delivered. Jokes apart how does one manage to design such a tunnel in a city which has heavy monsoon.”

While, Ashish Somkour critising the political leadership posted, “Leaders of Maharashtra should understand what wrong engineers, firms they are giving contract too- which cannot have designs predicting all the seasons.”

Environment activist Zoru Bhathena who posted the flooded subway photo on his X handle said, “The point is not only the subway is flooded but what if the water accumulates on the tracks of Metro. The underpass was built in 2022 and in mere two years we see this. The construction of Metro carshed in Aarey has caused water logging.”