Coastal road Haji Ali pedestrian underpass flooded during high tide

A civic official from BMC coastal road department when contacted told HT, “Haji Ali Dargah’s seaward side pathway was already submerged with water during high tide and that’s why the vehicular underpass got waterlogged during high tide. The coastal road is on the landward side

Mumbai: The tidal waters entering Haji Ali Coastal Road’s pedestrian underpass (PUP) on Wednesday afternoon caused a little flutter on social media as the 1pm high tide water made the PUP unusable. The water receded within two hours but Haji Ali Dargah Trust tweeted on X, “Since last year we have been following up with BMC, coastal road department and L&T to solve this problem. But still today, there is no action…”

Coastal road Haji Ali pedestrian underpass flooded during high tide

A civic official from BMC coastal road department when contacted told HT, “Haji Ali Dargah’s seaward side pathway was already submerged with water during high tide and that’s why the vehicular underpass got waterlogged during high tide. The coastal road is on the landward side.”

The civic official said as a part of Haji Ali beautification phase 1 plan the height of the pathway will be raised.

The public works department along with the harbour engineer will be executing this beautification work as it doesn’t fall under BMC jurisdiction. The funds are allocated by the city collector.

“Now, we cannot raise the level of the underpass as it has to be on the same level as the Haji Ali pathway. But we will take some measures to avoid waterlogging during monsoon by creating a hump at the mouth of the pedestrian underpass for which work has begun. Alternatively, we have put a 1200mm pipe hump pipe parallel to the pathway which goes from the promenade towards the seaside. We are also putting a line parallel to the coastal road at the Haji Ali outfall with a pumping arrangement during monsoon. During high tide with no rains we can manage as water recedes in no time,” said the civic official.