BEST buses diverted due to heavy rains

Heavy rainfall across the city since Monday night not only paralysed the suburban railway, but also caused bumper-to-bumper traffic, resulting in diversion of several routes of BEST buses.

"The traffic was so bad that a simple ride between Andheri and Kalanagar on the Western Express Highway took an hour," said a frustrated motorist, Sanjay Verma. Similarly, a 15-km ride from Mira Road to Goregaon took over two hours.

The situation on Eastern Express Highway was similar, with a long line of vehicles lined up from Vikhroli to the Amar Mahal Junction.

Th usual trouble spots of Parel, Hindmata, Milan Subway in Santa Cruz, Matunga, Chembur, Sion and Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar among others saw flooding, prompting authorities to divert public buses, along with other vehicles, informed BEST officials.

Traffic snarls on the Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road and Linking Road in Bandra gave motorists a tough time.

Fire brigades, ambulances and other emergency services were the most-affected, unable to reach their destinations on time, with the traffic movement coming to a near standstill.