Modi knows that the BMC elections are critical for his party which has never won a majority in the city's 227 wards.
At an event at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in south Mumbai, Modi first flagged off the the CSMT-Solapur Vande Bharat Express and later another semi high-speed train linking the financial capital to Sainagar Shirdi temple town in Ahmednagar district.
The trains will, however, only carry essential services personnel identified by the State government.
Earlier this week, the top doctors' body in the country, the Indian Medical Association, said the third wave is "inevitable and imminent", pointing out that "in many parts of the country both the government and public are complacent and engaged in mass gatherings without following Covid protocols".
As heavy rains lashed Mumbai and tracks got flooded, another local train coming from opposite direction also got stuck near the same spot and a team has been sent to rescue the passengers, the NDRF official said.
The number of active cases increased to 4,10,353 and accounted for 1.29 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate rose to 97.37 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The place of work turned into place of stay or a dormitory for the office goers and almost all the offices, especially those of state-run institutions that dominate the south Mumbai area, hosted employees for the night.
This comes amid a rising number of cases in Maharashtra which has prompted the state government officials to reinforce the coronavirus norms.
The daily rise in infections was the highest recorded in 153 days. The death toll increased to 1,60,692 with 251 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Unfortunately, in India, infrastructure projects are lost in a miasma of political and personal vanity, observes Shyam G Menon.
Health Minister Rajesh Tope said saving lives is the government's priority.
The Indian Meteorological Department, meanwhile, warned of intense spell of 30 to 50 mm rainfall per hour with strong winds in Mumbai and suburban areas.
Nangre Patil said the Mumbai cops were trained to handle law and order situations, the underworld and other sorts of criminals, but a 26/11-like terror attack was never anticipated.
Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 25,833 new coronavirus cases, the highest one-day spike since last March when the first coronavirus infection was detected.
A notification issued by the railway board in the evening said new fares would come into effect from May 5.
An increase of 2,095 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said on Thursday that its total active cases stood at 33,961, and the total number of patients recovered so far at 333,603.
The total active caseload increased to 1,97,237, which now comprises 1.74 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has dropped to 96.86 per cent.
The COVID-19 tally in Maharashtra till Wednesday night stood at 25,922 and the number of fatalities at 975, with Mumbai alone accounting for 15,747 cases and 596 deaths.
The total coronavirus cases mounted to 80,40,203 and the death toll climbed to 1,20,527 with the novel coronavirus virus claiming 517 lives in a span of 24 hours in the country, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Mumbai and its adjoining areas were lashed by heavy showers on Tuesday, causing water-logging at a number of places, including railway tracks, which slowed the movement of trains and vehicles on roads.
However, flight operations at the Mumbai airport were not impacted due to rains, an airport official said.
The Santacruz observatory recorded 286.4 mm rainfall during the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am on Wednesday, making it the fourth highest rainfall in Mumbai since 1974, an Indian Meteorological Department official said.
Nearly 6,000 passengers were stranded as train services on the Konkan Railway route in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district were suspended on Thursday after a river overflowed following heavy rains, while incessant downpour badly hit road and rail traffic in several parts of the state, including around Mumbai, as authorities called in NDRF to help the administration in rescue efforts.
Somaiya had on Sunday claimed he was barred from entering Kolhapur with the district authorities citing law and order as well as security concerns following his allegations of corruption against Maharashtra Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif.
This is the first time in past several decades that suburban trains have been stopped. Earlier in 1974, the suburban and long distance train services were stopped for around 20 days due to trade union strike.
Amid a spike in coronavirus infection in parts of Maharashtra, Mumbai has witnessed 36.38 per cent rise in the active COVID-19 cases since February 8, as per the city civic body.
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba chaired a high-level review meeting with chief secretaries of states and UTs of Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir.
In the light of a rise in COVID-19 cases, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has decided to register offences against people who violate safety guidelines, an official said on Thursday.
He said the Maharashtra government was providing all possible assistance to those affected.
An eyewitness travelling in the train claimed some passengers suffered minor injuries.
These 19th-century Victorian Gothic buildings lie to the east of the Oval Maidan in Mumbai.
The recovered some "incriminating" documents and electronic evidence such as laptop, I-pad and mobile phones from Waze's office there, the official said.
Under flak for the 'mishandling' of the bomb scare outside Mukesh Ambani's residence, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday transferred Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh from the post.
Earlier, the Railways had issued statements saying that it planned 125 trains for evacuating migrants from Maharashtra on May 25 but the state government was only able to give information for 41 trains till 2 am.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday said curfew will be imposed in the entire state from Monday midnight as the fight against coronavirus has reached a "turning point".
The official gave the directions following an inquiry conducted into the incident by the chief engineer (vigilance).
In an unprecedented measure, the Maharashtra government requested defence officials to arrange airlift of the stranded passengers of the 17412 Mahalaxmi Express.
Welcoming the reduction in pollution, environmentalists urged the government to treat it as a "wake-up call" and stop its "obsession" with "development" at the cost of the environment.
Among those who remembered the slain bravehearts, who fell to bullets of Pakistani terrorists while repulsing the deadly attack on this day 11 years ago, were their kin, politicians, government officials, sports persons and common citizens.
