The Maharashtra State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) has advised private offices in Mumbai to allow employees to work from home wherever possible, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for heavy to extremely heavy rainfall across several districts.
“In view of the current weather situation, SDMA has issued directions for Mumbai only: Private offices are advised to allow Work From Home wherever possible. Non-essential Government offices will observe a half-day,” the SDMA said in its advisory issued on Monday.
Lonavala recorded 670 mm of rainfall in a single day, the highest in the region, according to IMD scientist Bikram Singh. “Many places in Mumbai have received heavy to very heavy rains, with extremely heavy rains in isolated places and over ghat regions. Pune district, Raigad and Palghar have also received extremely heavy rains,” he told ANI, adding that a red warning remains in force for Raigad, the ghat region of Pune district, Nashik, and Palghar for the next 24 to 48 hours.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had separately declared a holiday for all government, private, and civic body-run schools and colleges in Mumbai in view of an earlier orange alert, while stating that government and private offices would function as usual that day. The BMC also issued a safety advisory for construction sites amid forecast wind speeds of 70 to 80 kmph, and reported 291 complaints of uprooted trees and falling branches by Monday evening, according to officials.
Train services on the Central and Western Railways faced diversions, delays, and short-term terminations due to waterlogging and a landslide, and four passenger trains in the Mumbai Central division were reported cancelled after the tracks were inundated. Rail movement between Karjat and Khopoli was also suspended following a ballast washout.
The advisory adds to a recurring monsoon challenge for Mumbai employers, many of whom lack formalised WFH policies despite the city’s annual exposure to extreme rainfall events, resulting in inconsistent compliance with such advisories across the private sector.
