Heavy rains batter west, southwest India

NEW DELHI, July 25 (Xinhua) — Local trains and flight services were hit adversely, a key subway shut for traffic, and educational institutions closed on Thursday amid a red alert of heavy to very-heavy rains sounded by the India Meteorological Department in the country’s financial capital Mumbai and its neighboring areas.
A similar warning of heavy to very-heavy rains was sounded for Mumbai’s neighboring districts of Thane and Raigad located in the southwestern state of Maharashtra. Several areas in the state’s Pune city also lay inundated amid heavy rains.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said preparations were in place for potential airlifting operations, urging residents to cooperate with authorities and move to safer locations.
Private airlines SpiceJet, Air India, and IndiGo announced potential flight disruptions, while local trains operated at a reduced speed due to low visibility and high winds.
Heavy and incessant rains had wreaked havoc in Pune, where at least four people died in rain-related incidents. Several houses and residential societies in low-lying areas in the city were inundated, following which Indian Army personnel were called in to speed up the evacuation process, India Today reported.
Meanwhile, the country’s western state of Gujarat also faced chaos after incessant rains wreaked havoc in many areas, including Surat, Vansari, Vadodara and Bharuch.
According to officials, hundreds of people were evacuated from several inundated low-lying areas in many parts of Gujarat amid torrential downpours on Wednesday. Swollen rivers and overflowing dams had reportedly cut off several villages in the state. ■