Andheri subway may not flood next monsoon, as Mumbai civic body plans to build box drain

Work on the box drain is likely to start within the next three months, civic officials said

To avoid flooding during monsoon at Andheri subway, one of the spots notorious for water logging and traffic jams, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to construct an underground box drain there. This is expected to help discharge water logged at the mouth of the subway through a culvert at the mouth of SV Road, and into Mogra Nullah.

People try to wade through water logged Andheri subway in Mumbai. (HT File)

Before the monsoon of 2016, the BMC had identified a total of 185 flooding spots which needed mitigation measures. Of these, 66 were categorised as chronic flooding spots. The western suburbs have eight chronic water logging spots. The BMC first set up 313 dewatering pumps as an immediate measure to check water logging during monsoon. On a waterlogged day, the civic body has about 14 dewatering pumps functioning in the Andheri area. The most notorious water logging spots include Andheri subway, Milan Subway, Khar Subway, Malad Subway, Borivali Subway, Dahisar, and Hindamata and Parel in south Mumbai. .

As a long-term step, the BMC plans a two-km box drain between Dharavi and Mahim, to check water logging at Hindmata, Parel, and Dharavi slums.

If all goes according to plan, work on the box drain will start within the next three months. A civic official said, "The Andheri subway is already very narrow, so we do not want traffic to be hampered during construction. So we will proceed with good planning."