Mumbai Civic body says it will require 15 days to complete work, even as monsoon sets in earlier than usual. The BMC is still in the midst of wrapping up its pre-monsoon works, such as desilting of storm water drains and bringing existing road works to a ‘safe status’.
Desilting work being carried out by civic authorities. PIC/BMC
The monsoon arrived in Mumbai 10 days ago on May 26, leading to scenes of widespread waterlogging and the emergence of new waterlogging hotspots in the city, including several Metro Rail stations on the Aqua line. The downpour also resulted in waterlogging spots such as Hindmata (Dadar) and Gandhi Market (Sion) — which were already taken care of by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) — being affected.
The BMC is still in the midst of wrapping up its pre-monsoon works, such as desilting of storm water drains and bringing existing road works to a ‘safe status’. Citizens have expressed concerns that the city is not prepared to face the monsoon, attributing this to a lack of planning and contingency measures by the civic body. According to BMC, it will take another 15 days to complete all pre-monsoon works.
Silt removed from Shastri Nagar nullah left beside it. Pic/By Special Arrangement
As per the internal status report received from BMC’s Storm Water Drains (SWD) Department, as of June 4, only 61 per cent of desilting work had been completed across the 18 km of Mithi River, as contractors abandoned the assigned job. Only 72 per cent of work has been completed on all minor nullahs across the city. Work has progressed well on major nullahs, with 105 per cent of the desilting work completed so far.
Hotspots lag behind
Several areas in Mumbai that have known waterlogging spots lag behind on their desilting progress. Only 69 per cent of desilting work has been completed on minor nullahs in the F/North ward covers Hindmata and Gandhi Market. Similarly, 68 per cent of desilting work has been completed for minor nullahs in Bandra East, and 66 per cent in Bandra West. In Kurla, which also witnesses widespread waterlogging, 55 per cent of desilting work has been completed. In Chembur and Govandi, 55 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively, has been completed on minor nullahs.
Lack of planning
Civic activist Nikhil Desai said, “Minor nullahs lead to hyper-local waterlogging. How will water drain off from a neighbourhood if its surrounding nullah is clogged?” According to Desai, there is no point in pouring so much money into pre-monsoon work if there is no planning. “On May 26, the entire Hindmata area was submerged in water because of this reason,” he said.
Dhaval Shah, founder, Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens Association said, “About 10 days ago, BMC removed silt from Shastri Nagar nullah and kept it on the banks for drying. It rained soon after and all the silt drained back into the nullah. Moreover, the BMC has still not completed its work to reroute water from the Shastri Nagar nullah via a new extension through JP Road. Its absence leads to additional waterlogging in the area.”
Official Speak
Civic chief Bhushan Ghagrani said that a detailed contingency plan has kicked into action for Mithi River’s desilting work. For Mithi, work will go on for another 15 days, and BMC will ensure up to 85 per cent of desilting work is completed. “BMC is assigning separate contractors to complete the job, with a target of 15 days.” Sensitive areas have been identified in case of heavy downpour during this period.
Ghagrani said, “Work is ongoing, but it meets frequent hurdles due to rain. We cannot transport wet silt and garbage as it is environmentally unsafe and economically unviable. We have to wait for it to dry. Minor nullahs do not pose a big challenge as cleaning can happen in these nullahs speedily. The downpour on May 26 gave us the chance to identify new waterlogging areas, and a head start to prepare for these spots also.” Deputy Chief Minister and Mumbai Guardian Minister Eknath Shinde directed the civic body to complete all monsoon-related work by June 7.
As per information from the SWD Department, 520 dewatering pumps have been deployed across the city. The BMC incurred Rs 450 crore on monsoon preparedness, including money earmarked for cleaning drains, repairing potholes, and deploying dewatering pumps.
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