Mumbai Metro Station Flooded 17 Days After Inauguration

Mumbai: Mumbai’s newly inaugurated underground Worli Metro station was flooded as Monsoon arrived early in the financial capital. Services of the Mumbai Metro line 3, which was inaugurated on May 10, were shut after the flooding. Opposition parties slammed the Devendra Fadnavis government over the poor quality of infrastructure.

There was waterlogging inside the station, including platforms, ticketing bays, and surrounding areas.

In a statement, the MMRC said, “Due to the sudden and intense rainfall, 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 the 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.

Slamming the state government, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said 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?” he asked.

Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad also accused the state government of ignoring passenger safety while focusing on a hyped inauguration. “Does the Mahabrashth Yuti even care how dangerous a submerged underground metro is? Why were these checks and balances not done? Why wasn’t enough precaution taken? How can people trust underground metro travel on heavy rain days? The government must answer, it must fix responsibility. We don’t want hyped inaugurations, but basic safety and functionality,” she said.

Denying the allegations of substandard work, state disaster management minister Girish Mahajan said, “A temporary wall was being built to stop water ingress because it would take three months for the entire work at the station to be completed. Due to heavy rains, the wall collapsed and water entered the metro station. The work was going on, and it was to be completed by June 10.”