Bhiwandi, July 10: Heavy rains continued to batter Mumbai and its surrounding areas along with several parts of Maharashtra for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday. Braving the torrential rains in the state, students from Bhiwandi taluka were forced to walk in knee-deep water, risking their lives, to reach their schools in another taluka.

As there are no schools in Bhiwandi Taluka’s Bijpada, Batrepada, Rawat Pada and Tadachi Wadi villages, more than 50 school-going children have to walk through the forest route and cover a distance of 5 kms to reach the school in Shahapur Taluka. The students usually take the forest way as the other route takes more time and is 8 kms- 3 kms more than usual. During monsoon season, the forest way is quite risky and slippery and flooded with water.

The heavy downpour today, which is believed to be the highest of the season so far in a day, disrupted rain services and caused traffic jams in Mumbai. Streets were flooded and water-logging was reported from several low-lying areas across the city, with people seen wading through knee-deep water.

Watch Video: Students Swim Across River in Bhiwandi to Reach School

(Video Credits: ABP Majha, YouTube)

In wake of the incessant rain in the state since the last few days, normal life has been. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said that the state government is keeping a close watch on the situation in Mumbai and its neighbouring areas, especially in Palghar district, following heavy rains.

While speaking in the Legislative Assembly, he informed that Palghar district has received unprecedented rainfall and the district administration is on alert and arrangements are being made to help the affected people.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Navy are on standby. The state disaster management cell is conducting operations on the ground, Fadnavis informed the House.

In Mumbai, the continues rainfall since the last few days crippled normal life as rail services were badly hit. Due to waterlogging in the Vasai-Virar area, the suburban western railway line has been affected. An additional 150 pumps have been deployed to drain out rainwater from flooded areas.

The India Meteorological Department's Colaba observatory (for the Mumbai city) recorded 165.8 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period of 8.30 am yesterday till 8.30 am today. The Santacruz observatory, which records rainfall for the suburban Mumbai, reported 184.3 mm rainfall in the same period. The IMD has predicted heavy to very heavy rain till Thursday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 10, 2018 10:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).