Mumbai: Oxygen pumped into old Matunga drain as Western Railway gears up for monsoon

High-capacity pumps installed to prevent waterlogging. PICS/RAJENDRA B AKLEKAR

From pumping oxygen to revive an old, hidden drain to lifting a track by six inches for 1 km, the Western Railway (WR) is doing everything in its capacity to avoid any waterlogging this monsoon season. The hidden drain in question - a waterway below Matunga workshop - was sanitised and a pathway created for water to ensure there is no blockage this time. Last year, there had been water-logging issues at Matunga Road, after which WR launched a drive to discover the old drain.

250-metre stretch cleaned

Officials said nearly 250 metres of the Dadar-Dharavi nullah stretch beneath the Matunga workshop and extending up to the Railway Protection Force barracks was cleaned. Vegetation and floating material were cleared, and the original drainage profile was restored.

A gauge installed to indicate water level

Infrastructure upgrade

Officials said the cleaning of the culvert has significantly improved stormwater conveyance towards the Mithi river and restored the drainage channel's carrying capacity. Along with desilting, the railways have also undertaken track-raising works, expanded drainage infrastructure, and installed monitoring systems in the area.

Unprecedented op

The culvert that was located and cleared

"In a first-of-its-kind operation aimed at preventing monsoon flooding on Mumbai's suburban railway network, we pumped oxygen into a 250-metre-long culvert connecting the Dadar-Dharavi nullah to the Mithi river to enable conservancy workers to safely enter and clean the heavily silted stretch. The culvert, located beneath the Matunga railway workshop and passing through sections of both WR and Central Railway, has long been considered one of the most challenging drainage points in the city," Vineet Abhishek, WR's chief public relations officer, said.

Herculean task

Trains can pass normally when the level is at green, slower when level is yellow, and will halt operations if it reaches red

According to Abhishek, railway engineers found it difficult for years to clean the enclosed structure, due to the accumulation of methane and other toxic gases inside the tunnel-like water channel. "The operation involved the use of super-sucker machines to remove accumulated silt, debris and floating waste that had significantly reduced the carrying capacity of the drainage channel," he explained.