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Heavy rainfall triggered landslides in the Mumbai-Pune ghat section on Monday, severely disrupting both rail and road connectivity between the two cities.
Several train services were cancelled or diverted after boulders fell on railway tracks, while traffic on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the old Mumbai-Pune Highway was suspended until further notice following a major landslide. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reviewed the situation and said restoration work was underway despite continued heavy rainfall. "Reviewed the situation arising out of heavy landslides and boulders falling onto the railway tracks in the Mumbai-Pune ghat section. The team is fully geared up for restoration. Heavy rainfall is expected today also. Have asked both Western and Central Railway officers to work as one team to ensure early restoration of all train services," the minister said. According to Central Railway, incessant heavy rainfall in the South East Ghat section between Karjat and Lonavala triggered a landslide between Thakurvadi (TKW) and Monkey Hill Loop Cabin (MHLC) on the Up Main Line of the Mumbai Division, forcing the cancellation and diversion of several train services. The cancelled trains include the CSMT-Pune Indrayani Express, Pune-Solapur Intercity Express, Solapur-Pune Intercity Express, Pune-CSMT Indrayani Express, CSMT-Pune Intercity Express, Pune-CSMT Intercity Express, CSMT-Pune Deccan Express, Pune-CSMT Deccan Express, Pune-CSMT Deccan Queen, CSMT-Pune Deccan Queen, Pune-CSMT Pragati Express, CSMT-Pune Pragati Express, Pune-CSMT Sinhagad Express, CSMT-Pune Sinhagad Express, CSMT-Dhule Express and Dhule-CSMT Express. Several long-distance trains have also been diverted through alternate routes, including the Ahmedabad-Kolhapur Express, Indore-Daund Express, Ahmedabad-Pune Duronto Express, Bidar-CSMT Express, Hazur Sahib Nanded-Panvel Express, Charlapalli-Indore Humsafar Express, LTT-SMVT Bengaluru Express, Daund-Gwalior Superfast Express and Chennai Egmore-CSMT Mail. Central Railway said local train services continue to operate on all four corridors. Services on the Main Line are running six to eight minutes behind schedule, while Harbour Line trains are delayed by around four minutes. Services on the Transharbour and Uran-Belapur lines are operating as per schedule. Road traffic was also severely affected after a major landslide occurred on the Missing Link section of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway near the Khandala exit. The Mumbai-bound lane has been completely closed. According to preliminary information, no casualties have been reported and efforts are underway to reopen the route. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) said, "There is a landslide occurred near the tunnel 2 exit of the Pune to Mumbai lane of the Pune to Mumbai Connecting Link Road, amidst extremely heavy ongoing rainfall. For safety reasons, the traffic has been diverted since 4 AM. We are constantly monitoring the situation in close coordination with the Highway Traffic Police." The District Information Office issued a public appeal asking people to avoid travelling between Pune and Mumbai. "Due to a landslide and continuous heavy rainfall, traffic movement on both the Pune-Mumbai Expressway and the old Mumbai-Pune Highway has been severely affected. Traffic in both directions (Pune-Mumbai and Mumbai-Pune) has been stopped until further notice. Citizens are requested not to undertake any journey between Pune and Mumbai until further directions are issued. Those planning to travel are advised to postpone their journey and follow traffic advisories and updates issued by the Government agencies. We request your cooperation in the interest of public safety," The District Information Office said in its statement. Meanwhile, as per reports, Mumbai's iconic dabbawalas suspended services for the day due to heavy rainfall and disruption to train operations. The Mumbai Dabbawalas Association issued a notice stating that food delivery and return pickup operations would remain closed as train services on the Western Railway had been severely affected, making it difficult to carry out deliveries. (ANI)
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