486 engineers to monitor 486 waterlogging-prone spots in city

486 junior engineers have been assigned to prevent waterlogging at identified spots in Mumbai this monsoon. They will be held responsible for negligence.

STRAP: CM Shinde takes stock of monsoon preparedness

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MUMBAI: In a bid to solve waterlogging problems in Mumbai this monsoon, civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal announced a novel idea on Thursday at a press gathering called by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The BMC has identified 486 spots which could get waterlogged with just 50mm of rainfall, and 486 junior engineers have been put in charge of them so that Mumbaikars do not have to suffer.

“The junior engineers have been provided with all the necessary equipment,” said Chahal. One copy of their names and contact details is with the disaster control room and one with me. They have been advised that once there are eight inches of rainfall at a location, the pumps should be made operational; they should also ensure that there is diesel supply and that the pump operator is present. That is how we plan to tackle waterlogging this monsoon.”

Shinde added that the 486 engineers would be held responsible if waterlogging took place. “They will be felicitated with a shawl and bouquet if they do a good job but if there is negligence then stringent action will be initiated,” he said. The CM added that nallahs falling under the jurisdiction of the railways would also be desilted to prevent waterlogging on railway tracks, which happened even with light showers. “But if unfortunately there are heavy showers on any given day, then BEST buses along with refreshments will be provided for commuters for safe travel,” he said.

CM Shinde took stock of the BMC’s monsoon preparedness by visiting the Mithi river in BKC, Vakola river, the BKC bridge, the holding pond at the Pramod Mahajan Garden in Dadar and the Lovegrove Pumping station in Worli. When asked how, unlike other CMs, he made a visit to nallahs, the CM said, “In Thane, as an elected representative I used to go for nallah safai inspection. I am a field person and people’s person. I do not see anything wrong in a CM visiting sites on the field.”

Shinde said that some Mumbai nallahs were “as wide as rivers”. “The city has 2,200 km of nallahs and 2000 km of roads, and the outlet for rainwater from these nallahs is into the sea,” he said. “If the nallahs are cleaned and desilted properly, half the monsoon problems of Mumbaikars will be solved. That is why I visited the four spots today.”

The CM said that the BMC kept a record of how many metric tonnes of silt was removed from nallahs every year. “I told the civic authorities that I was not concerned with the numbers, and that instead of going four metres deep while desilting, they needed to go up to five metres till they reached the hard base below the nallah. Only then will the carrying capacity of the nallah increase to accommodate the excess rain water. There is no point having pumps installed after flooding occurs; there should be a foolproof method to stop flooding before the onset of the monsoon.”

Shinde gave an assurance that the entire system would be upgraded, and wherever there were nallahs meeting the sea, a floodgate would be installed and work would be done on constructing holding ponds at chronic flooding spots like was done in Dadar. “Mumbai will not face waterlogging if these systems are in place,” he said. He also announced that broken footpaths would be repaired and roads that come under MMRDA would also be cleaned by th BMC.