Team TOIMumbai: Mumbai came to a standstill on Monday as heavy rain and gusty winds lashed it for the third day running and torrential showers disrupted life in other parts of the state, Palghar district being the worst-hit. While IMD downgraded the alert for Mumbai for Tuesday from red to orange, the BMC has again declared a holiday for schools and colleges as the met department said the city will see heavy to very heavy rain accompanied by strong winds.Thane, which also has an orange alert for Tuesday, and Palghar and Raigad, where the red alert stays, have likewise declared schools and colleges shut.The BMC got 523 complaints of tree and branch falls on Monday alone as wind gusts reached 77 kmph, and at least 11 people were injured in tree-fall incidents across the city since Sunday evening, seven of them hurt in Amboli (Andheri) when a tree crashed at 2.30 am Monday. In view of the warning of strong winds, BMC has decided to close all parks and gardens on Tuesday “for safety of citizens.”Late Monday, a 13-year-old boy Mohammed Abuzar was washed away in a swollen drain in Bhiwandi. Ten people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents in the city over six days.While the state disaster management authority had declared private offices in Mumbai shut on Monday morning, transport services were disrupted across MMR. Over 200 train services were hit across Central and Western Railway, including 43 cancellations — 27 on CR and 16 on WR including Tuesday departures.Landslides in the Lonavala-Karjat ghat section affected services. Tree branches on harbour line and a polythene bag entangled in the overhead equipment near Vikhroli caused additional delays. On WR, over 300 mm of rain in Palghar led to severe waterlogging near Nalasopara, suspending suburban services between Vasai and Virar and disrupting long-distance trains. But the local suburban network continued to operate, albeit with delays.The Palghar-Vasai-Virar belt was inundated with waist-high water in many areas, and Nalasopara and Vasai railway stations on the WR suburban network saw water on tracks reaching platform levels. A total of 347 residents were rescued from various areas of the district late Monday evening, with CM Devendra Fadnavis saying Palghar district was hit the most by rain. The CM said all alerts for the state are up to July 8.Fadnavis said trains between Gujarat and Mumbai were stranded, and people were being brought by road. “The Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway work is still underway so in some parts there is waterlogging and the road is closed,” he said.The newly-inaugurated ‘Missing Link’ stretch of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway had to be shut after a landslide damaged the tunnel 2 exit in Khopoli. Consequently, traffic between the two big cities was suspended on both carriageways. Late Monday the CMO post on X, “Traffic is resumed at the “Connecting Link”; vehicular movement is restored.” A landslide struck the Mumbai-Goa highway too on Monday.In Mumbai, BEST diverted buses on 60 routes including Bhandup, Andheri and Mulund and withdrew buses trapped in flooded streets. Power cuts affected Kandivli and Vasai, and in Girgaum, a meter room fire in a chawl caused local outage. Heavy rain led to diversion and go-arounds at Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports.Breakdown of vehicles and waterlogging slowed traffic at Marine Drive, Sakinaka and Dharavi as well as the Coastal Road tunnel. Poisar, Malad and Andheri subways were shut for a while. Only essential services plied, and the legislative council’s proceedings were also suspended.The sessions court was forced to adjourn key matters like the Sheena Bora murder case and NSEL scam case.With IMD issuing a red alert from July 4-6, BMC had activated its emergency response mechanism. Additional manpower, high-capacity dewatering pumps, rescue equipment and special response teams were deployed across vulnerable locations. The CM said teams of NDRF have been stationed in highly vulnerable areas across the state, and SDRF teams are in place in less vulnerable areas.Tree falls in the city affected even roads in Powai, Sion, at the Willingdon Club (Mahalaxmi), Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli. BMC issued guidelines for construction sites in the wake of mishaps recorded in Mulund and Bhandup.Mumbai University has postponed all examinations scheduled for Tuesday. The revised exam schedule will be announced shortly on its website, the varsity said in a circular.Thane received 240 mm rain in 24 hours. One man was injured after a tree fell on him at Louiswadi, while a fireman suffered a leg injury during a tree removal operation in Vrindavan. Meanwhile, the Ulhas river rose above danger level at Badlapur and Ambernath, while the Kalu river crossed warning level at Titwala. Around 250 residents were evacuated along the Ulhas riverbank in Badlapur, including 45 from an old-age home.

Heavy rains triggered a landslide near Tunnel 2 on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway Missing Link

MUMBAI/PUNE: The newly opened Mumbai–Pune Expressway ‘Missing Link’ project ran into serious trouble on Monday as heavy rains triggered a landslide near Tunnel 2, forcing a complete shutdown of the stretch and disrupting traffic between the two cities for over 18 hours.The landslide led to traffic diversions and raised sharp questions about the safety of the multi-crore infrastructure.Authorities shut sections of the expressway after debris and soil slipped onto the carriageway amid extremely heavy rainfall, severely impacting road connectivity between Mumbai and Pune.Traffic was diverted from the Missing Link alignment in the early hours as a precautionary measure, leaving motorists stranded for hours near Lonavala and Khandala.

Landslide, closures and traffic chaos

Officials said the landslide occurred near the exit of Tunnel 2 on the Pune-to-Mumbai lane, prompting the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to divert traffic from 4am.The Mumbai-bound lane was completely closed, while traffic on both the expressway and the old Mumbai–Pune highway was affected due to waterlogging and slope instability .Motorists reported bumper-to-bumper traffic in the Lonavala stretch after being rerouted, as rain continued to lash the region.District authorities issued public advisories urging people to avoid travelling between Mumbai and Pune until conditions improved.

‘Missing Link’ under political fire

The disruption quickly snowballed into a political flashpoint, with Opposition leaders alleging that the Missing Link project had “failed its first monsoon test”.Congress leaders demanded an independent audit of the project’s construction quality and expenditure, citing visible damage and safety concerns inside tunnels and on approach roads .NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) MP Supriya Sule expressed disappointment over the landslide incident. She said, “There must be an inquiry into who designed the bridge and who the contractor for the project is. The situation has become such that travelling from Pune to Mumbai is impossible; even some MLAs were unable to reach the Vidhan Bhavan.”Senior Congress spokesperson Anant Gadgil alleged that the project was opened in haste without adequate monsoon testing, claiming that tunnel linings and alignment choices could pose long-term risks during heavy rainfall .Opposition legislators also targeted the BJP-led government in the Maharashtra legislature, accusing it of pushing “headline-driven infrastructure” without ensuring durability and public safety. Protests were staged in Mumbai, with slogans mocking the government’s claims of world-class road projects .

Government response

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told the state assembly that the extreme rainfall amounted to a “force majeure” situation and said disaster management agencies were on alert.He maintained that the incidents reflected the impact of extreme weather rather than a lack of preparedness, adding that a detailed statement would be made in the House .MSRDC officials said the diversion was a safety measure and that the situation was being monitored in coordination with highway traffic police. Restoration work, however, remained challenging due to continued heavy rainfall in the ghat sections .

Questions over a flagship project

The 13-km Missing Link, designed to bypass the accident-prone ghat section and cut travel time between Mumbai and Pune by up to 30 minutes, was opened barely two months ago.Monday’s landslide and prolonged disruption have now reignited concerns over whether the project was adequately prepared to withstand harsh monsoon conditions in the Sahyadri terrain .With visuals of debris, water seepage and stranded vehicles circulating widely on social media, pressure is mounting on the government to explain how a flagship expressway project faltered during its first spell of heavy rain.

Mumbai-bound carriageway reopened after safety checks

The Mumbai-bound carriageway of the Mumbai–Pune Expressway Missing Link section was reopened for traffic later on Monday after being shut due to the rain-triggered landslide, MSRDC said.MSRDC officials said debris was cleared and safety inspections were carried out before allowing vehicles to pass through the stretch. Motorists have been advised to exercise caution as heavy rainfall continues in the ghat section.

Mumbai: An unmanned Nicaragua-flag merchant tanker, MT Al Jafzia, ran aground almost a kilometre near Manori island after it broke away from the anchor chain, while two other vessels washed closer to the island after they got dragged due to rough weather despite being on anchorage, said police.The two other vessels — Mali-flagged bitumen tanker MT Asphalt Star and Iranian-flagged tanker MT Stellar Ruby — washed closer to about 11 nautical miles, 20.3km from Manori island, said police.On noticing the vessel, local fishing community alerted the Gorai police after realising it would be dangerous for a small boat to enter the water to inspect the ship as the beach was rocky and wind speed was high. Police and the Coast Guard monitored the situation.An ICG official said they received message from DG Shipping on Sunday regarding the three vessels being dragged due to inclement weather conditions. “ICGS Samrat, which was in the area, was diverted for assessing the situation and necessary assistance to the vessels. DG Shipping was simultaneously requested to deploy ETV Water Lily for rendering assistance. Presently, MT Asphalt Star and MT Stellar Ruby are ascertained to be anchored and crew of ships are safe. MT Al Jafzia was unmanned on anchorage and has presumably run aground off Manori,” said the official.The official said ICGS Sagar Prahari and ETV Water Lily will remain in the area for rendering assistance.The three vessels were managed and owned by Dubai-based entities. In Feb 2026, the Indian Coast Guard, in a coordinated sea-air operation, intercepted and detained the Asphalt Star along with two other tankers in the Arabian Sea. Authorities alleged that the vessel engaged in illicit mid-sea ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian bitumen and fuel while employing deceptive practices, such as switching off tracking systems and operating under OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) sanctions.On a tip-off, the Indian Coast Guard intercepted and apprehended three vessels over alleged illegal fuel smuggling. These ships were anchored approximately 11 nautical miles off the Mumbai coast. The Coast Guard intercepted these vessels within Indian territorial waters, and an FIR was registered against the ship owner and eight others on Feb 15. Subsequently, they were handed over to the custody of the Yellow Gate police.Consequently, the shipowners filed a petition in the Bombay High Court demanding the release of these vessels. The HC had in May granted permission to move vessel Al Jafzia, one of the three ships intercepted in connection with a fuel theft and bitumen smuggling case, to Alang shipyard in Gujarat. The court issued orders directing to obtain all necessary permissions from the Indian Coast Guard and other relevant departments to ensure this process was completed.Investigation agencies found that the seized ships, identified as the Stellar Ruby, Asphalt Star and Al Jafzia, frequently changed their identities to evade coastal law enforcement. Because the vessel owners abandoned the ships and deserted the crew, the HC had in May intervened and ordered the immediate release and repatriation of the 50 Indian seafarers stranded onboard.TOI is in possession of the FIR in which the owner and crews of the three vessels were booked under the Customs Act, Essential Commodities Act, Petroleum Act, Information Technology Act, Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel Order Regulation of Supply and Distribution and Prohibition of Unfair Practices, and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections.

Mumbai: The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Monday slammed the Mahayuti govt over the landslide on the ‘missing link’ — called the ‘connecting link’ since its recent inauguration — on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis defended his govt, saying the missing link was an engineering marvel, be it the tunnel or the viaduct, both of which were intact even in extreme weather conditions. He said his govt had shown courage by creating the link while the govt in 2013 had found reasons not to develop the link.Terming the landslide and closure of the missing link a systemic failure, the opposition demanded a thorough inquiry into big-ticket infrastructure projects. Leading the charge were NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, Congress state unit president Harshwardhan Sapkal, Congress city unit chief and MP Varsha Gaikwad, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule.Pawar asked whether the landslide had also been created for “durability checks”, like the potholes that surfaced a few days ago on the missing link — a dig at Fadnavis, who had said there were only two potholes and the link would undergo a durability check.Echoing Pawar’s sarcasm, Sapkal asked whether the closure of the missing link was also a “monsoon trial”. He said the first spell of rain had effectively turned “infra man” Fadnavis into a “disaster man”.Sapkal argued that while tunnels are successfully carved through mountains globally, Maharashtra’s projects appear to collapse at the first sign of rain. “The problem isn’t the rainfall; it is substandard work, corruption, and the political patronage enjoyed by contractors,” he said.The Congress termed the incidents “Fadnavis’ man-made disaster”, demanding an FIR against the chief minister.MP and Congress city unit chief Varsha Gaikwad said Fadnavis’s testing of the missing link was testing the people’s patience. She said it was surprising that no planning was done for landslides and other natural calamities given the topography of the missing link area. She said on X that there was a “link of brokerage and corruption” in the missing link’ work.Sule urged the chief minister to immediately review the situation and declare a state of emergency regarding infrastructure. She noted that the state appeared “completely paralysed”, with crucial connectivity between Mumbai and Pune severed.Stopping short of alleging outright corruption “until more facts emerge”, Sule raised questions regarding the project’s execution. “We need to know the total expenditure incurred and, more importantly, whether a safety audit was conducted. If it was, did they account for natural disasters?” she said.Thackeray said corruption was the first name of the BJP and Shiv Sena, be it in roads or temples, referring to the Ram temple donation theft case in Ayodhya.Thackeray said on X that the cost of the link was escalated by thousands of crores. “It has now had a landslide and much more within 2 months of its checks and inaugurations. More so, using it while on the way to Pune and back, I noticed and stated publicly also that not even 50 ft of the road is flat. It is all undulated and feels like one is sitting in a boat, riding the waves,” he said.Fadnavis defended his govt and termed the missing link project an engineering marvel. He accused opposition parties of not executing any development project when they were in power and stated that “those who had a habit of indulging in corruption, unable to digest why it is not happening now, are making baseless allegations”.“In 2013, Harshwardhan Sapkal’s party closed the connecting link’s file listing 13 reasons and stating that it was not possible. But our govt showed courage and completed the connecting link project,” he said.Fadnavis said the landslide had brought down nearly 100 tonnes of sludge and nearly 70% had been cleared by afternoon. He said three lanes were open going towards Pune while one lane was operational going towards Mumbai. He said PWD minister Shivendraraje Bhosale was at site overseeing the clearing operations and efforts were on to open it completely.(With inputs from Prasad Kulkarni in Pune)

The incident took place between 8am and 8.30am on Saturday when Manoj Patel, a resident of Vile Parle (East), was on his way to catch a train. (AI-generated image)

MUMBAI: A man impersonating a police officer allegedly duped a Vile Parle resident of Rs 13,000 after threatening to book him and send him to jail for three months for chewing gutka, which is banned in Maharashtra, police said on Monday.The Vile Parle police, who have registered a case, said the conman flashed what appeared to be a police identity card and demanded a Rs 25,000 fine, warning the victim that he would be jailed for three months if he failed to pay. The accused then made the victim withdraw Rs 13,000 from an ATM and hand over the cash to avoid action.The incident took place between 8 am and 8.30 am on Saturday when Manoj Patel (49), a resident of Vile Parle (East), was on his way to catch a train to reach his workplace at Masjid Bunder.“A team has been formed to trace the unidentified conman, who arrived on a motorcycle and flashed an ID card while impersonating a police officer. The team is scanning CCTV footage to identify the route he took after fleeing,” an officer from Vile Parle police station said.Patel was near the Adarsh Petrol Pump on Nehru Road in Vile Parle (East) when a man, believed to be around 40 to 45 years old, approached him on a two-wheeler.In his complaint, Patel said: “He stopped me claiming to be a police officer and showed me a police ID card, asking how I could consume gutka when it is banned. He threatened to impose a Rs 25,000 fine and put me in lock-up for three months. When I assured him that I would not repeat the mistake, he asked how much money I had. I told him I had money in my SBI bank account.”The conman then took Patel on his two-wheeler to an SBI ATM on Sadanand Road in Vile Parle and asked him to withdraw money.“The conman waited outside the ATM while I withdrew Rs 13,000 and handed it over to him. He then left the spot, and I went to work. While at work, I realised that the man had neither taken me to a police station nor given me any receipt for the money,” Patel said in the FIR.After realising that he had been cheated by a man impersonating a police officer and using a fake identity card, Patel approached the Vile Parle police after returning home from work and lodged a complaint.