MUMBAI, Aug. 21 -- The rampant construction of buildings and encroachment on salt pan lands in Vasai East as well as encroachment on mangroves and waterholes in Nalasopara and Virar led to rainwater and water stored in the Pelhar dam to flow onto the rail lines. A Western Railway (WR) spokesperson stated this as the reason for the severe water logging on the 1.5-km stretch of rail track in Vasai, which led to a disruption in train services on the Virar-Churchgate route. The disruptions on Tuesday and the first half of Wednesday led to the cancellation of many services and delayed operations. "The water from the local check dam flowed straight to the rail lines," said a senior WR official. "In the past, there were salt pan lands and greens that prevented soil erosion and stopped water from flowing up to rail lines. The widening of drains and micro-tunnelling proved futile as the level of the road and rail tracks are the same. There was no protection for the tracks from the flowing water." There are reportedly no floodgates on the Pelhar dam, which is a check dam whose primary role is to prevent erosion and velocity of water flow. Railway engineers at the site said that 104 points and 10 to 12 signal poles were affected along the 1.5-km stretch from Vasai station towards Virar. Points are responsible for allowing trains to switch from one track to another. "We had to send our staff in that heavy rain and logged water which was 10 to 12 inches more than the track level," said another WR official. "They had to lock the points in knee-deep water, which took 30 to 45 minutes on an average." Sources in WR said that rampant construction, unplanned 'development' and haphazard dumping of debris in drains had choked culverts. The widespread construction led to severe waterlogging of four feet and more across Vasai, particularly affecting Viva College Campus, Sainath Nagar, Bolinj, Global City, Gokul Township, Nandakhal, Waliv and Sativali. Local residents said that water gushed into the first floor of housing complexes at several places and many cars were submerged. "Apart from topography, encroachments and the illegal construction on natural waterholes are the main reasons for flooding," said social activist Dhananjay Gawde. "Also, the drainage system in the area cannot absorb rainfall above 100 mm but yesterday the region received over 150 mm." In 2018, there was similar flooding in the area, after which a committee of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and IIT-Bombay suggested steps to be implemented at a cost of Rs 12 crore. But that has remained on paper. Environmentalist Sameer Vartak said that for the past 15 years they had been observing that the water holding ponds in the Vasai-Virar region, mostly in the west, had been covered with mud and given the green signal by the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) for construction of buildings. Many nullahs have been closed and salt pans reclaimed, which has caused severe water logging in several areas of the region. "When we spoke to VVCMC, they decided to raise the level of the road, which did not help," said Vartak. "Many water holding ponds belonging to private parties were taken over by VVCMC and the owners were given TDR too, but VVCMC has not constructed water holding ponds there. The civic body claimed that tenders had been floated but they could not find anyone to reconstruct the water holding ponds. Instead, rampant construction has been going on." Manoj Suryavanshi, commissioner of VVCMC, said that he had set up a team to survey the areas. "We will take necessary steps to solve the issues," he said....