12 June,2025 08:00 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
Overnight and continuous rainfall on May 26 caused waterlogging at Dadar TT, bringing traffic to a standstill. File Pic/Ashish Raje
To tackle the problem of waterlogging in Mumbai in the long run, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to check the feasibility of widening the drains of the city to a water carrying capacity of up to 120 mm of rain per hour. After the 2006 deluge, Mumbai's drains were widened from the carrying capacity of 25 mm of rain per hour to 55 mm of rain per hour, as per the recommendations of the Chitale Committee Report. This project is now 90 per cent complete, according to information from BMC.
However, after the early onset of monsoon this year on May 25, instead of the first week of June, new waterlogging spots emerged across the city. Up to 80 new localised waterlogging spots were recorded across the city during May showers, when several parts of the island city reported over 200 mm of rainfall within a day. Additional Municipal Commissioner in charge of the storm water drains department, Abhijit Bangar, said, "BMC has decided to take up an exercise to study the reasons behind localised water logging spots. A detailed report will be submitted by the Stormwater Drains Department giving an explanation on why each spot flooded during the monsoon."
During consultations with experts from the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), it has been noted that Mumbai needs to further widen its drains. Recommendations also include widening of drains only from Colaba to Dadar areas, which will include the nine administrative wards from Ward A in Colaba to G/North ward in Dadar.
Mumbai's overall network of stormwater drains is around 3900 metres long, which includes major drains, minor drains, and others such as box drains and arch drains in the island city.
