Rains in parts of Maha; Mumbai local train services hit; hailstorms in Nanded

A damage assessment exercise has started.

Parts of Maharashtra on Thursday received unseasonal showers, including in Mumbai, where suburban train services were disrupted on the Central Railway in the evening, officials said.

Parts of Mumbai and its adjoining areas experienced brief spells of rains in the morning and also late in the evening, bringing down temperatures and giving people some respite from the sweltering heat.

However, these unseasonal rains could exacerbate crop losses in the state.

The rains come after Mumbai a few days ago recorded the season’s highest temperature -- 39.4 degrees Celsius – so far, and at a time when the state has been witnessing a spike in influenza cases and viral infections.

“Most of central Maharashtra reported thunder and rains. Raigad (located adjoining Mumbai) also reported light rains,” said the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Due to unseasonal rains, suburban train services were delayed by 15 to 20 minutes on the Central Railway's Main and Harbour Lines during peak hours in the evening, Railway officials said.

Incidents of spark emanating between overhead wire and the pantograph (an apparatus mounted on roof) of suburban trains were reported at Byculla and Bhandup stations on Main Line and at Wadala station on Harbour line due to rains, they said.

''Intermittent tripping due to drizzling in the section b/w Byculla-Kalyan on Main line and CSMT-Kurla on Harbour Line delayed trains,'' Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer, CR, said.

The trains, which had faced problems due to sparking, later left for further journey, but the timetable was disrupted due to it, he said.

Farmers in the state are already reeling under losses after heavy showers last week destroyed standing crops.

Various parts of Nanded district in central Maharashtra also witnessed hailstorms on Thursday.

Former Chief Minister and Congress MLA Ashok Chavan tweeted a video of hailstorms from Nanded, his home district.

Seeking financial aid for affected farmers, Chavan said many parts of Maharashtra have been lashed by unseasoned rains and hailstorms and losses in Nanded are heavy.

The former CM also spoke to district collector Abhijeet Raut and asked him to ensure farmers get adequate aid.

In another tweet, Chavan said villages of Mugat, Nivga, Barad, Pandharwadi and Patnur have faced losses and roofs and walls of houses have suffered damage.

Collector Raut told PTI, ''Losses have been reported from parts of Ardhapur and Mudkhed tehsils of Nanded district. A damage assessment exercise has started. Though state government employees are on a strike, they are co-operating in the exercise.''

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)