Monday, August 1 2005 18:50 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Incessant rains continued to lash the city and other parts of Maharashtra today (Aug 1, 2005), paralysing rail, road and air traffic and thousands of people were moved to safer places in view of water discharge from overflowing dams as the toll in the State crossed 900.

With the city receiving continuous rainfall since yesterday (July 31, 2005), normal life in Mumbai came to a standstill as several low-lying areas were submerged, affecting road traffic in these areas and on Eastern and Western Express highways.

Suburban rail services on the Central and Harbour routes were also affected with trains running only between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Kurla.

On the western route, the trains were moving between Churchgate and Virar at slow speed due to flooding of the tracks, a Railway spokesman said.

People had a harrowing time reaching places of work and offices reported thin attendance. Schools, colleges and educational institutions remained closed as the State Government had already declared a holiday.

Inbound and outbound flights have been delayed due to poor visibility at the airport, sources said.

Meanwhile, a red alert has been sounded in Pune and over 2000 people living in low lying areas along the banks of Mutha and Mula rivers were shifted to safer places as precautionary measure due to controlled discharge of water from three dams around the city.

In Bhandara district in east Maharashtra, an alert was sounded following rise in water level in river Wainganga due to heavy rains in catchment areas.

5000 families in 35 villages along Krishna river in Sangli district have been evacuated.

In flood-hit Satara district, more than 150 families living near Koyna dam were shifted to safer places while 100 families from Karad and 60 families from Patan tehsil were also evacuated.

About 50 villages in Satara district were marooned since yesterday following heavy rains.

Meanwhile, the toll in the State rose to 924 with Mumbai alone accounting for 425 rain-related deaths, Navi Mumbai 60, Thane (city and rural) 204, Raigad 129, Ratnagiri 16, Sindhudurg 7, Kolhapur 10 and other districts 73, official sources said.

Raigad district, which bore the brunt in the first spell of monsoon fury last week due to landslides, continued to be pounded by heavy rains, district administration said.

In the country's commercial and financial hub, there was thin attendance in Reserve Bank of India and other banks.

In Bombay Stock Exchange, 30 per cent of the staff reported for duty but operations were normal.

Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation said 90 per cent of electricity supply, which was cut off in the last two days due to heavy rain, has been restored.

Vehicular traffic was also disrupted with water logging in low-lying areas of the city, including Hindmata, Sion, Kurla, Kings Circle, Wadala, Kalina, S V Road, Khar, Milan Subway and Dahisar, police said.