As monsoon rains continue to pound Mumbai, the Maharashtra State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) on Monday issued a work-from-home (WFH) advisory for private offices across the city. The authority also said a half-day for non-essential government offices to reduce travel and prevent the public from travelling to government offices in the city in the rainy weather situation.
The advisory comes after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) put Mumbai on a red alert, warning of very heavy rains, strong winds and flooding in some parts of the city.
According to SDMA, private businesses have been told to allow employees to work from home wherever operationally feasible; non-essential government and semi-government departments will be off for half a day, but essential services like emergency response, healthcare, police, and civic operations will continue.
BMC’s Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also advised residents to avoid traveling and to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary. Heavy rainfall is negatively affecting travel, services provided and daily life in Mumbai and around them. All residents need to be following the weather advisories that public transport and daily life is being affected.
State Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan told people to stay indoors, stressing that the present situation requires maximum caution.
"People should not venture out today at all. Please do not go out for tourism. We will soon announce the closure of offices, schools, and colleges. Please do not venture out," Mahajan said at Vidhan Bhavan.
He also urged political parties to try and keep politics away from the current crisis and to concentrate on public safety and disaster management.
"We can do politics after two days. We want everyone to help and support the government," he said, responding to criticism from the Opposition over the landslide near the Mumbai-Pune Expressway’s Missing Link project.
Heavy rain has disrupted the transport system in Maharashtra as landslides in the Bhor Ghat area have led to extensive road and rail disruption, traffic shutdowns, and delays between Mumbai and Pune.
Since then, water and debris have been cleared out from sections of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and vehicles have resumed driving on some of the sections. Traffic Police officials confirmed that vehicles can now travel again and they are monitoring the road conditions.
However, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) said that restoration work is still ongoing on parts of the Mumbai-Pune National Highway and Yashwantrao Chavan Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
The corporation advised commuters to avoid traveling between Mumbai and Pune unless absolutely necessary. Any changes in traffic movement or route diversions would be communicated immediately through official channels.
If more obstructions are observed from rainfall or landslides, vehicles will be diverted to other routes for the sake of the safety of the commuters.
Mahajan said it might take another three to four days of sustained rainfall before reservoir levels across Maharashtra improve significantly. The state government is hopeful that continued rainfall in catchment areas will boost water storage levels ahead of the rest of the monsoon season.
With more heavy rainfall forecast in the coming days, disaster response teams, civic agencies, and emergency services are on high alert as they continue to monitor the evolving weather situation across Mumbai and neighbouring districts.
