Mumbai's Powai Lake overflows; rain disrupts air and rail traffic. Watch video

Mumbai and surrounding areas continued to reel under heavy monsoon showers this week, triggering widespread waterlogging, disrupting transport services, and now pushing one of the city’s key reservoirs, Powai Lake, past its full capacity.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) confirmed early Wednesday that Powai Lake, a significant artificial waterbody under its jurisdiction, began overflowing around 6 AM due to intense rainfall in its catchment area over the past two days.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the civic body noted that the lake's water levels reached 195.10 feet. The lake has a storage capacity of 545 crore litres and is primarily used for non-potable and industrial purposes, especially in the Aarey Milk Colony region.

The ongoing weather conditions have disrupted mobility across the city. Suburban railway lines, the lifeline of Mumbai’s daily commute, reported delays of up to 30 minutes on both Central and Western corridors on Monday. Commuters struggled to navigate flooded streets as waterlogging hit multiple low-lying areas.

Air travel wasn’t spared either. IndiGo Airlines issued an advisory on Monday, warning passengers of delays due to poor road conditions and reduced visibility around the airport. “Heavy rainfall continues across Mumbai, and road conditions remain slow in several parts of the city,” the airline said, urging travellers to check real-time flight updates and allow for extra travel time.

With the monsoon gaining momentum, civic authorities remain on high alert as Mumbai continues to battle its annual infrastructure stress test brought on by torrential rains.

Meanwhile, on Monday, a road in Navi Mumbai's Vashi Plaza Commercial Complex collapsed after heavy rainfall lashed over Maharashtra, according to news agency ANI.

The news agency shared a video showing how the four-wheelers and two-wheelers got stuck due to the sudden deformation of the road. This incident caused significant visible damage to public and private property as fire officials tried to clear the damage.