Mumbai civic body plans flood mitigation measures at Gandhi Market for ₹16.6 crore

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to undertake extensive and dedicated flood mitigation measures for Gandhi Market area at a cost of ₹16.66 crore. The work will start in February and end by June, just before monsoon 2021, as per BMC’s plan.

After years of water logging woes on Babasaheb Ambedkar Road at at Gandhi Market near Matunga, the residents are likely to get relief this monsoon. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to undertake extensive and dedicated flood mitigation measures for Gandhi Market area at a cost of ₹16.66 crore. The work will start in February and end by June, just before monsoon 2021, as per BMC’s plan.

During monsoons, Gandhi Market in Mumbai witnesses heavy water logging, grinding traffic to a halt. (HT FILE PHOTO)

The works include installation of penstock-type gates (similar to flood gates) at storm water drains at JY Road, Bharat Nagar railway culvert, Avanti Apartment culvert and Shanmukhananda Hall culvert; and laying of rising main (SWD line) with a diameter of 900mm from Gandhi Market to Bharat Nagar culvert.

A senior official from BMC’s storm water drains department said, “The drain line at Gandhi market is a scattered line, not a single one. It goes in four directions. We are going to install gates at each of these four lines to stop the incoming tidal flow. Then we are going to discharge water logged at Gandhi Market on the other side of these gates through the rising main.”

“The rising main will start at Gandhi Market and end 400 metres away from the water logging spot. This needs to be done because we do not want to hamper the existing drain,” said an official.

BMC will also hire 13 submersible de-watering pumps to pump out water from the area. These include three pumps with capacity to pump out 3,000 cubic metre (m3) per hour, three pumps of capacity to pump 1,000 m3 per hour and six pumps with a capacity to pump out 500 m3 water per hour, according to the tenders floated by the civic body.

Gandhi Market is a low-lying area on Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, a major road connecting eastern suburbs to the island city which sees heavy traffic flow including BEST buses, taxis, private vehicles, inter-city state transport vehicles de-boarding at Dadar. Apart from the Eastern Freeway, this is the other major road running through the city connecting commercial hubs such as Elphinstone Road, Lower Parel, Fort and Nariman Point to eastern suburbs. During monsoons, Gandhi Market witnesses heavy water logging, grinding traffic to a halt.

Nikhil Desai, coordinator of AGNI (Action for Good Governance and Networking) for F North ward which has jurisdiction over the area, said, “For the past 20 years or so, Gandhi Market is notoriously known for water logging. It is submerged in almost 3-foot-deep water during monsoon as it is a low lying area. After the deluge of 2005, the Chitale Committee had suggested the Mahul Pumping station to bring relief to this area among others, but the pumping station has not taken shape yet. BMC needs to complete the work being undertaken for Gandhi Market now, but more importantly it needs to construct the Mahul pumping station for a permanent solution.”

Planned under BMC’s BRIMSTOWAD project, Mahul pumping station will help deal with water logging at Matunga, Kurla, Sion, Wadala and a part of Dadar. The land where Mahul pumping station has been planned is a salt pan land owned by the Central Government. The land acquisition process has been going on for over three years.