The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) ambitious road concreting project was planned to eliminate potholes and prevent trenching on roads. However, it has now created a new challenge for the stormwater drainage system
A new concrete road dug up for a stormwater drain. Pics/Atul Kamble
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) ambitious road concreting project was planned to eliminate potholes and prevent trenching on roads. However, it has now created a new challenge for the stormwater drainage system. Bora Bazar Street in Fort witnessed waterlogging for the first time during recent pre-monsoon showers, just a month after the road was concreted. To address this, the BMC has dug a trench to create a chamber and drain to discharge rainwater. Activists have termed this a major blunder in civic planning.
Sanjay Gurav, a Fort resident, said, “The road was concreted just a month ago. But after the first rain, it got waterlogged. This road never saw waterlogging even during heavy showers. Now the BMC has dug a trench to build a chamber and lay an underground drainage line.” He added, “How can the BMC not anticipate the need for proper drainage? How can they build a road that causes waterlogging? The BMC headquarters is just minutes away, yet this blunder happened right under their nose.”
Bora Bazar Street in Fort got waterlogged for the first time recently. Pic/Atul Kamble
“We thought converting the asphalt road into a concrete one would stop frequent digging and pothole problems. But now they’ve dug up the new concrete road for a stormwater drain,” Gurav said. Bora Bazar Street is an iconic market in Fort, home to old stationery and paper shops, along with residential buildings. A senior BMC official from the roads department confirmed the flooding. “Yes, we found waterlogging on the newly constructed road. We have started creating a new chamber and an underground drain at the site. The work will be completed soon,” the official told mid-day. “We’re placing a drain at the point where rainwater accumulated, which will help drain it out quickly.”
Mansukh Gala, who runs a photocopy shop on the street, said, “We saw waterlogging here for the first time. I don’t understand how the BMC can build a road that floods. And this was just a pre-monsoon shower — what will happen during heavy rain? If this isn’t fixed, it’ll be a huge loss for our businesses.” The BMC had concreted a 410-metre stretch of the road. Now, it has dug up around 25 to 30 feet of it — about one foot wide — to install drains. The work began on Wednesday. Over 20 roads in A ward are currently being concreted, at an estimated cost of around Rs 164 crore.
Rajesh Khuma, another shop owner, said, “We never saw waterlogging on this road before. After concreting, it’s happening for the first time. If BMC doesn’t fix it before monsoon, it’ll be a disaster for shopkeepers.” The BMC has launched an R11,500 crore city-wide road concreting project to tackle potholes on asphalt roads by converting all of them into concrete surfaces.
Road expert Jitendra Gupta said, “This is a clear blunder. What were the contractors and BMC supervisors doing during construction? They didn’t even ensure a proper slope to guide rainwater into the drain. If this can happen on one road, imagine the same mistake repeating across the city.”
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