Even as mobile network, electricity and rail connectivity remained erratic, the Western Railway stated that local train services were running normal between Dahanu and Churchgate.
Life started limping back to normalcy in the Nallasapora-Vasai belt on Wednesday, which was marooned by the torrential rains for the past three days.
On Wednesday afternoon, wading through waterlogged streets in many parts of Palghar district, residents stepped out to buy bare essentials. A spot visit made by the DNA team revealed the plight of common people, who had to shell out extra money for vegetables, milk and water. Many residents across the western suburbs complained of vegetables becoming dearer and shortage of milk. Bottled water, that is normally sold at Rs 30 was being sold at Rs 80, while one litre milk was being sold for Rs 100.
Several officegoers said that they would resume work on Thursday if the water subsided and the rain gods had mercy. Even as mobile network, electricity and rail connectivity remained erratic, the Western Railway stated that local train services were running normal between Dahanu and Churchgate.
Trains ran at 10 km per hour on the Nallasopara-Vasai belt.
On Wednesday, several shops, ATMs, milk centres and grocery stores remained open as people queued to purchase groceries. Power supply resumed after nearly 40 hours on Wednesday afternoon. However, a majority of the streets remained submerged under water till calf length.
While many complained, some enthusiastic locals took joyrides on their motorcycles and four wheelers on the flooded roads. "For the first time in years, we experienced this chaos and flooding. The weather was bad and we were forced to stay indoors," said Bharat Avlani (65), a resident of Evershine Nagar, Vasai (E). The Avlani family ate bread -butter, biscuits and dal-rice for three days.
Many people travelled on overcrowded trucks, tempos, tractors and auto-rickshaws. The east-west link roads were badly hit as many were waterlogged. The local police were asking the tempo, truck and tractor drivers to ferry people who either charged them Rs 10 per seat or offered free rides. "Some auto drivers were overcharging by five times for a mere 1-km distance," said Vinod Kamat (72), a Vasai resident. The stretch in Vasant Nagri, Vasai which is surrounded by salt pan land was also badly hit. Even on Wednesday, the water flowed like a river.
"There were snakes moving around in water. People were stranded and we helped them with food and water. Many motorists had to be convinced not to take the link road as the water current was strong," said Mohit Garg, a resident of Santoor society, Vasai. The rescue and disaster teams, including the NDRF were moving across the areas that were badly affected. Many locals hoped that the situation would improve by tomorrow.
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