Mumbai rains: Underground metro station inundated, MMRC suspends services to Worli; Oppn slams govt

Mumbai: Operations on the Metro line 3 between Acharya Atre Chowk and Worli were suspended on Monday, after heavy rains inundated an underground station, officials said.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) was forced to suspend the operation after flooding was reported at the underground Acharya Atre Chowk station.

Viral videos showed waterlogging inside the station premises, including platforms, ticketing bay and surrounding areas.

One of the videos shows rainwater leaking along the escalators, while the false ceiling inside the station lay collapsed, and some machinery is seen scattered.

The inundation inside the metro station has raised concerns about construction quality and monsoon preparedness of the underground metro station on the 33-km long Colaba-BKC-Aarey JVLR underground metro corridor.

The MMRC, in a statement, said, "Due to the sudden and intense rainfall today, water seepage was reported at the under-construction entry/exit structure of Acharya Atrey Chowk station along Dr Annie Besant Road. The incident occurred when the RCC water-retaining wall constructed at entry/ exit collapsed due to a sudden ingress of water from an adjoining utility." As a precautionary measure and to ensure passenger safety, train services between Worli and Acharya Atrey Chowk have been temporarily suspended, the agency said.

However, the services from Aarey JVLR to Worli are not affected and are running regularly, it stated.

On May 9, the MMRC extended the underground metro services between the Bandra-Kurla Complex and Aacharya Atre Chowk stations.

Slamming the state government, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray jibed that the line had been aptly named "Aqua" since it "is under water today".

"The Metro station was inaugurated two weeks ago. Apparently, things are falling from the top (ceiling). We see that debris has fallen down. Were safety measures followed when it was being inaugurated," Thackeray said.

State Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan said with regards to the Metro, where the work was going on, a temporary wall was being built to stop the water because it will take three months for the work to be completed.

Due to heavy rains, the wall collapsed and which is why the water went inside (the Metro station). The work was going on and it was to be completed by June 10, he said.

Responding to criticism over why the Metro station was inaugurated when work was yet to be finished, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the work on the Metro line had been completed.

"If you don't start it, you will say why Metro was not inaugurated when it is complete," Shinde added.

Metro Line 3 is Mumbai's first fully underground Metro line and is currently under phased construction.