Traffic has been restored on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway after heavy rains caused landslides in Maharashtra. However, rail services are affected due to waterlogging. Many trains have been canceled and the Meteorological Department has issued orange and red alerts for many districts.
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [भारत]July 7 (ANI): Traffic resumed on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway connecting link road after authorities completed extensive security operations following landslides triggered by heavy rains overnight. However, rail services remained disrupted due to waterlogging in some parts of Maharashtra.
Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Monday said vehicular movement has been restored on the route and urged people to remain alert. CMO Maharashtra, in a post on Twitter, said traffic has resumed on the “connecting link”; Vehicular movement has been restored. The government is trying its best. Stay safe everyone!” Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) also confirmed that traffic has resumed on the Pune-Mumbai connecting link road after extensive safety measures were taken.
“Traffic has resumed on the Pune-Mumbai connecting link road. Vehicular movement has been restored after completion of extensive security operations,” MSRDC said in a post on Twitter. Heavy rains triggered landslides in the Mumbai-Pune Ghat section on Monday, severely disrupting both rail and road connectivity between the two cities. Stones fell on railway tracks, while traffic on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the old Mumbai-Pune Highway was also suspended after a major landslide.
Rail traffic also affected, many trains cancelled.
Meanwhile, rail traffic has been affected due to waterlogging in Vasai Road, Nalasopara and Virar sections due to continuous heavy rains in Mumbai Central division of Western Railway. Keeping in mind the safety of passengers and operational requirements, many trains have been cancelled, while others have been diverted.
According to Western Railways, Train No. 19016 Porbandar-Dadar Express, Train No. 19218 Veraval-Bandra Terminus Express and Train No. 12941 Bhavnagar Terminus-Asansol Express scheduled on July 7 have been cancelled. Train No. 12942 Asansol-Bhavnagar Terminus Express scheduled on July 9 has also been cancelled.
Additionally, Train No. 20495 Jodhpur-Hadapsar Express and Train No. 22497 Sri Ganganagar-Tiruchirappalli Express scheduled to depart on July 6 have been diverted via Surat-Paldhi-Jalgaon-Manmad-Daund Chord Line-Pune route.
Meteorological Department issued alert
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Mumbai, Kolhapur, Satara, Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri districts, predicting moderate rain at isolated places. Earlier, the IMD had issued a red alert for the Ghats of Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Pune and Nashik, warning of the possibility of very heavy rain, strong winds and waterlogging.
Besides this, the state government has declared work from home for all offices, and disaster relief forces have been deployed for rescue operations. The Chief Minister has also appealed to the people to remain alert as the IMD has issued a cloudburst alert between Nashik and Trimbakeshwar on July 7.
According to Maharashtra CMO, Palghar and Konkan regions are also on red alert for July 7; 500 citizens are being evacuated to safe places in Palghar. The CMO has advised pilgrims not to enter Alandi as all four bridges leading to Alandi have been submerged due to floods in the Indrayani river. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)