Heavy rain floods Mumbai's Andheri subway ahead of monsoon, sparks blame game

Key points

• A spell of heavy pre-monsoon rain flooded Mumbai's low-lying Andheri subway on Wednesday morning, forcing authorities to temporarily shut the key east-west connector and triggering a fresh political war over the city's monsoon preparedness.
• The southwest monsoon is expected to hit Mumbai between June 5 and June 11, according to the India Meteorological Department.
• The rain-bearing system officially made landfall in Kerala today.
• The flooding on the subway occurred even before the official onset of the monsoon, with parts of Mumbai's western suburbs receiving intense rainfall within a short period.
• Andheri recorded nearly 49 mm of rain between 7 am and 8 am, while nearby Versova received as much as 69 mm during the same period, according to reports.