Commuters stranded at Hindamatha, Parel as heavy rains lash Mumbai on Tuesday. Ganesh Shirsekar
From keeping selfie enthusiasts away from the sea and assisting people stranded on waterlogged roads to issuing traffic advisories all day long, Tuesday’s continuous rainfall kept the Mumbai police on their toes.
By the time the BMC released an advisory asking people to stay indoors, the city traffic was gridlocked, all arterial roads were blocked and train services were paralysed. The Mumbai Police started using its Twitter handle to help stranded citizens. Helpline numbers —7738133133/ 7738144144 and 100 — were set up urging people to get in touch with the police on these numbers. “We pressed all the 5,000 CCTVs into service and are monitoring the situation. Policemen, including senior officials, were out on the streets manning traffic posts and monitoring the situation,” the Mumbai police PRO said.
Mumbai police Twitter handle posted details of traffic advisories and tweeted posts by fellow citizens offering shelter or food to stranded people. Through direct messages they reached out to those stranded. They also used social media to urge youngsters to refrain from stepping on the tetrapods or trying to take a selfie near the seashore in gusty wind conditions.
The Mumbai police Twitter handle came to the rescue of 25-year-old Hitesh Wadhwani, a resident of Ulhasnagar, who decided to use social media to help his stranded neighbours. “Four kids from my neighbourhood left for their college on Tuesday morning. But owing to heavy rains they got stranded at Kurla station for over four hours. We thought of taking the road to fetch them, but when we saw Google maps showing that all the roads leading to Mumbai were waterlogged, I decided to tweet to Mumbai police for help. They got in touch with me and I shared the number of one of the kids with the police. The police got in touch with them and arranged for their accommodation with a trust in Kurla. We are grateful that our kids are safe,” Wadhwani told The Indian Express.
While traffic crawled on most roads, Mumbai police directed motorists through their Twitter handle and also gave them a tip or two about driving on waterlogged roads. The Bandra Worli Sea Link was closed to traffic at 4 pm after a large pile-up of vehicles at Lotus Junction in Worli. “The ingress of water also affected roads. We shut the sea link for an hour and half and then opened it again,” said Amitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic. North-bound traffic, however, remained badly affected with heavy waterlogging in Kalanagar, Hans Bhugra Marg in Kalina and Vakola.
Kumar said that traffic on the Western Express Highway was badly affected and the traffic police worked to keep the vehicles moving. North-bound traffic was briefly held up after the Dahisar river overflowed. Throughout the day, the traffic police also advised motorists to avoid travelling towards Bandra and Bandra Kurla Complex, which were badly flooded. In the eastern suburbs, heavy waterlogging at Amar Mahal junction, V N Purav Marg and S G Barve road in Chembur led to south-bound traffic being diverted to Wadala.
DCP Manoj Sharma, under whose jurisdiction Marine Drive falls, made announcements at Marine Drive asking people not to get close to the promenade or click selfies. “We used loudspeakers to make announcements. The winds were gusty and we requested people to refrain from clicking selfies or getting close to the promenade. While the situation at Marine Drive was under control, the major problem was traffic at P D’Mello Road. With the Sea Link shut for a while, commuters were not using Peddar Road bridge, we therefore started making announcements informing people that the sea link was open. The traffic at P D’Mello Road was a concern as there was waterlogging below the freeway,” said Sharma.
“Heavy waterlogging expected in the coming hours due to heavy showers coupled with high tide. Pls chk ur route b4 venturing out,” the police added in another Tweet. In another Tweet, the Mumbai police urged people to abandon their cars if the water was tyre-high.
With rains showing no signs of subduing, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis paid a visit to the main control room at the Mumbai Police Headquarters. The Commissioner of Police, Dattatray Padsalgikar and the Joint Commissioner of Police ( Law and Order) Deven Bharti apprised the chief minister of the traffic situation.
Kumar added that the traffic control room was abuzz with calls and they received around 5,000 texts on WhatsApp. “The calls were attended as soon as we could. Our men were deployed in every nook and cranny of the city and they would continue to be on duty till late in the night,” added Kumar.
Meanwhile, the Navi Mumbai police urged mall managements to allow stranded people to take shelter in malls. “We are also requesting Gurudwara and NGOs to arrange for some meals to the stranded people. Stranded people may note this,” a Navi Mumbai police WhatsApp message read.
