Even as the city came to a crawl on Friday, the incessant rains did not deter the Mumbai police from carrying out its duties, with almost 90% of its staff reporting to work. In spite of some of the police stations in low-lying areas flooding, policemen were seen on roads doing their job.
"Most of our men, who live far away in the western and central suburbs, reported to work... they were on roads helping people," said deputy commissioner of police Dhananjay Kulkarni. "In the evening, our men even rescued people at Kannamwar Nagar in Vikhroli when a slab of a residential building collapsed. Our men ensured that no one ventured in the sea during high tide and there were no untoward incidents in the city."
Friday's rains also ensured that the traffic police had their work cut out, as several policemen had to wade through knee-deep water in order to try and make sure there were no traffic jams on the roads of Mumbai. Only three minor accidents were reported throughout the day.
According to the traffic control, a total of 24 places flooded in the city, including Senapati Bapat Marg outside Matunga station, Hindmata in Parel, Nana Chowk at Tardeo, Sakinaka, Metro junction in Andheri (East) and Malad.
The traffic police pressed in around 80 extra policemen to ensure smooth vehicular movement. "Our priority was to ensure that there was no parking on roads so that the entire width of the road is available to motorists," said joint commissioner of police (traffic) Milind Bharambe. "Our men were on the roads managing traffic on water-logged roads and removing vehicles that had broken down due to rains."
