A thick fog enveloped the city and its suburbs from early on Saturday morning, leaving Mumbaikars surprised. Railway traffic was affected for a few hours.
The fog was seen over the city since early on Saturday morning, and Many Mumbaikars tweeted pictures in surprised reactions, including those some who were stranded at the airport as some flights were held back due to low visibility.
Mumbaikars were all the more amused because the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), in its forecast for Saturday, had predicted clear skies.
“The morning fog occurred due to the mixing of cold and warm air along the coastal region. We expect it to be present on Sunday as well. It should clear by Monday,” said Ajay Kumar, scientist, IMD, when contacted.
The fog also affected early morning railway commuting by office-goers, as trains werestarted getting delayed due to low visibility from around 6.30 a.m. Irate commuters at the Vasind station on the central line, after waiting for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus-bound trains for over an hour, spilled out on the tracks and staged an impromptu rail roko (stop trains) as soon as a train arrived at around 7.30 a.m. on Saturday. Police sources said about 150-200 commuters stepped on to the tracks to protest.
“The commuters were upset over the fact that the delay was causing them to be late for work, which would result in being marked absent. A lot of them were worried about the fact that a delayed arrival would result in an absentee remark for the day. Around 150-200 commuters stepped on to the tracks to protest,” said Senior Police Inspector Dinkar Pingle, Kalyan Railway police station.
Government Railway Police personnel who were on duty at the Vasind station immediately informed their superiors and reinforcements were rushed to the spot to deal with any law and order problem.
“We reasoned with the commuters and told them that trains were running late due to low visibility, and the protest was dispersed peacefully after over an hour,” Mr Pingle said.
The rail roko further added to the delays on the central line, and trains were running late till early afternoon, after which services slowly resumed at their normal pace.
The Western Railway line remained largely unaffected, while trains on the Harbour Line were running late by 15 to 20 minutes in the morning, said officials. The fog did not affect road and air traffic as much as it hit rail services. Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) said that no traffic jams were reported in the city due to the fog. Meanwhile, Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport International officials said that the fog did not cause any major delays in flights. A Mumbai International Airport Ltd spokesperson said that operations were normal throughout Saturday.