Title - Mumbai shuts down amid fears of high tide

Mumbai : Life in Mumbai came to a near standstill this morning after the local administration wary of heavy rain coinciding with exceptionally high tides ordered schools to shut down and advised people to stay home.Managements of many schools sent back buses with children after the authorities warned them against beginning classes. Memories of July 26, 2005 when Mumbai received record rainfall flooding the entire city for days revisited most people as the downpour turned heavy early in the day. “We had asked people to stay indoors fearing heavy rainfall coinciding with high tides,” mayor Sunil Prabhu said.With the weather department predicting high tides measuring up to 4.95 metres, the administration did not want to take any chances, Prabhu said.The municipal corporation could not deploy pumps to evacuate floodwater into the sea due to high tides. Rain, however, subsided by afternoon though the sky remained overcast portending heavy rainfall later in the evening.The weather department said the city received 215 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours, one of the highest this season.Traffic was diverted in many parts of the city as low-lying areas remained flooded. The traffic police put out SMS messages advising the closure of important roads. Motorists were also advised against taking out their vehicles unless necessary.Local trains and BEST buses plied behind schedule. Train services on both the Western and Central railways were affected temporarily.The Mumbra bypass on the national highway connecting Mumbai to Delhi and Ahmedabad was shut after some cracks were noticed, officials said.