NEW DELHI, 3 August 2004 — Heavy rains finally lashed most of northern and western India yesterday, easing fears of a drought across the crucial agricultural region.

Many parts of the north and west had not received adequate rainfall over the past month of monsoon rains, triggering fears that a drought was in the offing.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had asked his officials to monitor the situation.

But yesterday, torrential rainfall was seen in most parts of the parched region including the capital New Delhi, the key agricultural northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab and the western states of Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

Welcome though it was, the rain wasn’t all good news as the downpour submerged metro lines in the western commercial hub of Bombay, leaving thousands of commuters stranded and disrupting traffic for hours.

The deluge continued here for the second consecutive week.

“Water level crossed the danger mark of four inches above ground level near the tracks and train services had to be suspended for 15 minutes this morning,” said Central Railway spokesperson Mukul Jain.

“Central Railway services have been delayed by over one hour and around 25 trains have been cancelled,” he said.

Rail traffic was disrupted on the Western Railway network too.

“Traffic on the Western Railway suburban section was suspended between Churchgate and Bombay Central at around 3:00 p.m. as water levels reached the danger spot of 100 mm,” said Shailendra Kumar, spokesperson for the Western Railway. “The disruption in rail traffic caused immense hardship to those returning from offices in south Bombay,” complained Panalal Shah, a trader in the Opera House here, who was forced to close shop early.

Most parts of Bombay witnessed traffic snarls following water clogging due to the heavy downpour.

“The Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) that plies the bus system in Bombay had to cancel many vehicles or divert them,” said a BEST spokesperson.

Several low-lying areas of the metropolis were inundated with water.

The Bombay High Court was closed in the afternoon as rains disrupted proceedings, while state government offices were shut by 2:00 p.m. to allow staff to return home early in the deluge.

Six people, all residents of hutments near the Bhagwati Sagar Co-operative Society, were injured in a landslide at Vikhroli in the north central suburbs. They were admitted to the Rajawadi hospital.

According to a spokesperson of Jet Airways, “Flights were delayed due to a thick blanket of fog over Bombay airport which made landing risky.”

In New Delhi, there was cheer in government circles as officials said the monsoon had entered an “active phase” in the northern and western region where it had been near certain a drought would occur.

The prime minister had recently told Parliament that of the 36 meteorological subdivisions in the country, 16 had experienced “deficient” or “scanty” amounts of rain.

Nightlong rains yesterday gave the capital its first break from days of sweltering heat, leading to a dip in temperature.

The Meteorological Department recorded 15.8 mm rain at 5.30 a.m. and gave hopes of intermittent rain through the day.

The rainfall began some time after midnight with a drizzle and built up to a heavy downpour before daybreak in several parts of the capital.

However, the welcome change in weather came at a price with water logging and traffic jams reported from various parts of the city. New Delhi has received 77 percent less rainfall till now, leaving citizens craving for the rejuvenating downpour.