The BMC disaster management cell numbers just did not work. People could not reach 22694725, 1916, 108.
Disaster Management
The BMC disaster management cell numbers just did not work. People could not reach 22694725, 1916, 108 and the authorities accepted that “too much of load led to the collapse of the network”. “As the day progressed, accessibility to the numbers became better,” said Vilas Vaidya, chief officer, BMC Disaster Control Room.
Railways
Lightning struck overhead wires between Vidyavihar and Ghatkopar forcing services to a halt between 6.40 pm and 7.30 pm. Suburban services ran 15 to 20 minutes behind schedule. Three long-distance trains were rescheduled. Suburban services on the Western line were affected. There was a track failure between Malad and Borivali at 7.45 pm. “Trains were running almost 30-40 minutes behind schedule,” said chief public relations officer, Western Railway, Pranai Prabhakar.
Air traffic
“The operations were near normal on the first day of monsoon except for two diversions,” said SRR Rao, executive director (Western Region) of AAI. “We conducted pre-monsoon checks and found the conditions satisfactory,” he said.
Mobile
Despite all preparations, at least two mobile service providers’ network crashed. Hutch and MTNL subscribers lost connectivity for some time. Some operators reacted promptly by forwarding BMC commissioner Johny Joseph’s caution message: “Heavy rainfall over the next 48 hours.”
Fire Brigade
Two wall collapses, trees falling at 31 places and short circuits— all this kept the fire brigade on its toes. Deputy fire officer VM Naik said officers were ready to meet any eventuality.
Power
CST, Capitol Cinema, Madam Cama Road, Sitladevi, Paradise Cinema and Belassis Road plunged into darkness late on Wednesday evening. BEST blamed it on a feeder trip. “We have sent out our teams. Power would be restored shortly,” said a senior BEST official.
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