Andheri subway could flood this year too

Additional municipal commissioner (projects) Abhijit Bangar said the BMC has already deployed 550 dewatering pumps in flood-prone areas as a preemptive measure this year, ahead of the usual deployment date of June 1

Mumbai: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Ashwini Bhide on Tuesday said those using the Andheri subway would have to endure flooding this year too as the civic body was still exploring options to deal with chronic flooding of the subway.

Andheri subway could flood this year too

Additional municipal commissioner (projects) Abhijit Bangar said the BMC has already deployed 550 dewatering pumps in flood-prone areas as a preemptive measure this year, ahead of the usual deployment date of June 1.

“Last year, pre-monsoon showers lashed the city on May 26, catching us off guard and causing flooding. Hence, this year, we have already deployed pumps across the city,” Bangar said.

Six major and 10 minor stations that pump out seawater during high tide are operational too, he stated.

Also in place is a new early warning system, established in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, which provides weather alerts 48 hours in advance, unlike the three-hour notice in the earlier system.

Meanwhile, the BMC is likely to undertake the last phase road concretisation works from August 2026-April 2027. Till now, 78.9% or 691 kilometres of road has been concretised, as per the dashboard on the BMC website. The remaining roads will be concretised by May 31, ahead of the monsoon, officials said.

“Some roads may not need to be concretised,” Bhide said.

The BMC had earlier decided to concretise all roads in the city including narrow lanes and bylanes.