MUMBAI: Heavy monsoon rains brought India’s financial capital to a halt on Tuesday, with authorities struggling to evacuate people with the scheduled high tide adding to the chaos.

Incessant rain flooded several parts of Mumbai and paralysed train services used by millions of commuters daily, with many stranded at stations and hundreds of others walking home through waist-deep water on railway tracks.

Poor visibility also forced airport authorities to divert some flights while most were delayed by up to an hour. Thousands, some abandoning their water-logged cars, waded through waist-deep wa­­ter to reach home after some parts of the city received as much as 297.6 millimetres of rainfall.

Weather officials are forecasting heavy rains to continue over the next 24 hours and have urged people to stay indoors. A high tide amid the downpour led to water logging of upto 5 feet in some parts of the city.

The National Disaster Res­ponse Force launched a rescue mission with police to evacuate people from low-lying areas but operations were thwarted by the continuous rain.

Although Mumbai is trying to build itself into a global financial hub, parts struggle to cope during annual monsoon rains.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2017