BMC unearths reason behind Antop Hill flooding

A team of officials from the civic body’s storm water drain (SWD) department found a delayed recession of flood waters in Antop Hill, which could be rectified only if the encroachments

Mumbai: A slum comprising over 300 hutments encroaching upon a nullah near the Wadala Fire brigade station in Antop Hill has been identified as the primary cause of flooding over the past 10 days of heavy rains. Rampant encroachment by hutments has led to a reduction of the width of a nullah near Samadhan Road from four metres (m) to 0.61m.

The blocked nullah increased the risk for the residents of the hutments, the civic body found. (HT Photo)

A team of officials from the civic body’s storm water drain (SWD) department found a delayed recession of flood waters in Antop Hill, which could be rectified only if the encroachments on Cem India minor nullah’s banks were removed.

“A slum at Sangam Nagar near Wadala Fire Brigade has encroached the Cem India minor nullah and reduced its width from 4m to 0.61m. We need to restore the width of the nyullah to 4m. A permanent solution will be to remove all encroachments on the nullah,” an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) SWD department said.

In its observations to the F(north) ward office — in which this nullah falls — the SWD said that over a passage of time, encroachments have taken over the banks of the nullah that has led to a change in the direction of its flow, reducing its depth as well as its width. Not only has this led to increased flooding in the area, it has also prevented the civic body’s mitigation efforts.

“Due to its inaccessibility it becomes difficult to clean the nullah. Due to this, flooding has increased and recession of storm water is delayed,” the official quoted above said.

In fact, on July 6, a few of these structures even collapsed, and while no deaths or injuries were reported, it led to the nullah getting blocked.

The blocked nullah increased the risk for the residents of the hutments, the civic body found.

“There is still a risk that some encroached structures will collapse. Further, the closed portion of Cem India nallah was found downstream at the part which flows into the Sangam Nagar major nallah, due to which there was no flow. There seems to be an overflow connection from this collapsed drain to nearby box drain from adjacent slums which has resulted in flooding,” said the SWD official.

The width of the Sangam Nagar major nallah was also found reduced from 6m to 3m.

Gajanan Bellale, assistant commissioner, F(north) ward, said that the SWD department has been asked to do an inventory on slums encroaching the nullah. Action will be initiated to remove all encroachments, he added.

“The slum rehabilitation authority will undertake the project. Tentatively, 300 structures have been identified. But we will know the real number only after the survey,” Bellale said.

The survey is expected to start within a month during a dry spell.

However, in order to address the water-logging issue and provide immediate relief, the ward office has undertaken a project to construct a mini pumping station at Bharni Naka near Wadala Fire Brigade on the lines of the mini pumping station built near Mahatma Gandhi Market in Matunga.

“Already 60 percent of the work [on the mini pumping station] is complete and two pumps will be ready in a month. They will have the capacity to pump out 60 lakh litres of water per hour which will provide major relief,” Bellale said. The water will be pumped out into the sea through the storm water drain.

However, the department officials said the mini pumping station will only work when there is moderate rainfall.

“The only way for [flooding to decrease]] is to deepen the Cem India minor nullah along the whole length and increase its width. This minor nullah needs to be augmented by the Sangam Nagar major nullah to effectively cater to the huge volume of storm water. Until this is done, the problem of flooding on Antop Hill will prevail,” the official said.