"Meetha hai," echoed all over Mumbai's Mahim on Friday night as hundreds thronged the Mahim creek.

Around 10 pm, word began spreading that the seawater had turned sweet, and a sizeable crowd began building along the stretch from the creek to the nearby shrine of Haji Maqdoom Baba.

"Usually, the water here is so salty that you cringe even if you accidentally swallow a bit. But today, it is not salty at all. This is miraculous," Syed Mirza, a resident, said.

As people started trickling towards the creek, traffic on the Mahim causeway was affected and cops had to step in to clear the jam.

Water samples have been sent for analysis, and the result will be known by Saturday afternoon, reports said.

Some speculated that the excess freshwater flowing into the sea must be flowing along the shore, thereby making the water taste better.

Doctors, though, have cautioned the public against drinking the water as it could be highly contaminated.