Showers back with vengeance, rain feared during festivities

Mumbai: With the rains lashing on Saturday, Mumbaikars were once again reminded of the terrible anguish that the monsoon can unleash. With more than 130 mm rainfall in the eastern and western suburbs till Saturday evening, the city had more than its share of a rainy day. Colaba, on the other hand, received 67 mm rainfall 

in the same period. 
    The western suburbs were worst-hit with maximum tree falls and waterlogged areas. Around 18 localities were waterlogged and 12 tree falls were reported. Khar, Western Express highway, Andheri and Malad, Matunga, Mahalaxmi, Tardeo, Haji Ali, Byculla, Dadar, Mankhurd, Mulund, Tilak Nagar and Vidyavihar bore the brunt of heavy showers. 
    Ravi Shankar (21), a Saki Naka resident, was injured when a portion of a wall collapsed around 8am. Shankar was discharged after receiving medical aid at Rajawadi Hospital. A portion of a 40-year-old building collapsed at LBS Marg at Ghatkopar (W), no injuries were reported. 
    After every heavy downpour, residents of Jay Bharat Colony in Khar have with a similar fate. "Every time there is heavy rainfall, we are almost under house arrest. The ground floor of our society has been flooded since Friday night," said Surindra Khubchandani, a resident of Jay Bharat Colony. 
    He added, "Calls to the disaster management cell have fallen on deaf ears. The water in tanks has been contaminated. This is the case every monsoon. It's the second time this year that we are facing such a situation." 
    Strong westerly winds caused Saturday's downpour. "There has been a general strengthening of westerlies in the mid-troposphearic levels resulting in widespread rainfall in Maharashtra," said V K Rajeev, director of weather forecast at the Indian Meteorological Department. 
    The city may have to celebrate festivities amid heavy showers next week if similar weather conditions remain, said a Met department official. A low pressure area, which may form over Orissa, may cause further rainfall over the western coast. "The low pressure area is likely to move along the monsoon trough. Heavy rainfall is likely to occur on the Konkan coast during the next two days. Mumbai will experience intermittent spells of rain with heavy to very heavy rainfall at some places," Rajeev said. 
Tansa breaches overflow mark 
Mumbai: Tansa, one of the six lakes that supply water to the city, crossed the overflow mark on Saturday afternoon duw to the heavy downpour. It is the fourth lake to have spilled over after Tulsi, Modak Sagar and Vihar lakes. While Upper Vaitarna is just a metre shy of the overflow mark, Bhatsa may take some more time to reach the mark. "It is a good sign that most of the lakes have started overflowing. Water shortage in some wards will be resolved soon," said a hydraulic department official. 
    The total useful content in all the six lakes is around 11,21,331 million litres. TNN Tree fall in Mahim damages vehicle Mahima Sikand & Shawan Sen TIMES NEWS NETWORK 
Mumbai:A banyan tree fell on a parked Honda City in Mahim on Saturday afternoon around 4pm near Sitladevi Temple. However, no injuries were reported. Fire brigade personnel took more than an hour to remove the car under the tree and clear the road. The owner of the damaged car, Ajay Goda (38) said, "The vehicle's rear portion has been damaged. The glass shields are broken and the boot has been severely dented." 
    Rakesh Lohare, a local shopkeeper, "Rains are inevitable, however, the BMC must identify vulnerable trees and cut them at the earliest."According to the BMC's disaster management cell, around 28 tree falls were reported on Saturday. 
    The western suburbs were the worst-hit with 12 incidents. Around ten tree falls were reported in the city and six in the eastern suburbs. 
    According to the civic body, as compared to the last year, there have been fewer cases of tree falls. In June 2010, nearly 801 cases were registered, while this year 513 incidents have been reported. "We are trying to minimize tree falls," said deputy municipal commissioner Suhas Karvande.

FACING THE WRATH: No injuries were reported in the incident

SHOWERING WOES: A biker finds it difficult to ride through the waterlogged Andheri subway on Saturday