An employee who works at Design Cooperative, a firm located in Swastik Chambers, said, “We can now keep our windows open at least during the day as mosquito breeding has reduced massively because there has been no stagnant water on office premises since the BMC cleaned the drains some two weeks ago"
Swastik Chambers, which houses several corporate offices, in Chembur, on June 16. Pic/Shadab Khan
It has been a fortnight since office-goers at Swastik Chambers in Chembur have got relief from the persistent waterlogging problem that they had been facing since it first rained in March. The employees thanked mid-day for highlighting their issue, which resulted in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) taking swift action.
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“Our premises have been completely dry for two weeks now. Gone is the ankle-deep water that we were forced to wade through daily. We had written several complaints about this to all the authorities, but no action was taken until mid-day spoke to officials and wrote about our problem,” said Jaya Goyal, a social scientist, who has a PhD degree and runs two firms in Swastik Chambers.
Drain inside Swastik Chambers is still filled to brim, sparking concerns about when it rains heavily again
She added that, earlier, waterlogging would occur even when it did not rain. “Now that the drains have been cleaned to some extent, we don’t face this problem at least when it’s not raining. Earlier, irrespective of how much it rained, water would accumulate and take days to evaporate,” added Goyal.
An employee who works at Design Cooperative, a firm located in Swastik Chambers, said, “We can now keep our windows open at least during the day as mosquito breeding has reduced massively because there has been no stagnant water on office premises since the BMC cleaned the drains some two weeks ago. Also, as per the BMC’s advice, the management of this premises got internal drains cleaned, which helped, too.”
Fear still lingers
However, the employees still state that the situation might repeat once it starts raining heavily again. “The drain that is inside the compound was filled to the brim even today [Monday]. This means that the authorities haven’t cleaned the entire stretch fully. And as soon as there are heavy showers, the water again will be pushed into our compound, leading to the same situation. We just hope that before that happens, the agencies concerned do their jobs diligently so that we do not have to face more inconvenience,” said Goyal.
Silt removed by the BMC outside Swastik Chambers PICS/JAYA GOYAL
Authorities speak
When contacted, Shankar Bhosale, the assistant municipal commissioner of M West ward, said, “Based on the complaints and information that we received, we immediately and extensively conducted the de-clogging process. Considering the high amount of sludge that was collected, we have directed the cleaning staff to monitor and take daily action if required. We have also written to the MMRDA [Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority] to clean the part of the drain that they are responsible for. The drains were filled due to Metro work-related debris in some parts, and also part of the drain is in their purview as along with the ongoing Metro works, the MMRDA is also working to beautify and repair the footpaths there. We will ensure that Swastik Chambers won’t face this problem again and will immediately act if water gets accumulated for any reason.” MMRDA officials were unavailable for comment before press time.
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