BMC lists 43 flooding spots at Railways premises in Mumbai

Other than asking Railways to ensure desilting of drains and culverts, the BMC also suggested corrective measures like augmentation of drains, creation of manholes, and proposed deadlines.

To prevent another deluge like the one on August 29 last year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has come up with a list of 43 ‘critical’ flooding spots inside Railways premises and also suggested remedial measures that can be taken to avoid waterlogging.

Waterlogging on railway tracks due to heavy rains at Kurla in Mumbai on August 29, 2017. (HT File)

In a recent meeting between Railways authorities and BMC, the civic body, along with a list of exact spots, also submitted photographic evidence of obstructions in drains. It highlighted 17 spots on the Central Railway (CR) premises, 16 on the Harbour line and 10 on the Western Railway (WR) line. Some of these spots are near Dadar, Parel, Currey Road, Chinchpokli, Mulund, Wadala, Chunabhatti, Matunga, Khar, Bandra and Mumbai Central railway stations.

Other than asking Railways to ensure desilting of drains and culverts, the BMC also suggested corrective measures like augmentation of drains, creation of manholes, and proposed deadlines. “This year, we are concentrating on well-coordinated plans to be better prepared to handle heavy rain. After August 29, it was found that many drains were blocked owing to garbage, whereas at other spots, drain capacity was needed to be increased,” said Vijay Singhal, additional municipal commissioner, in-charge of storm water drains department. “We have come up with corrective measures for each spot.”

On August 29, waterlogging at Kurla, Sion and Matunga paralysed local train services on the CR. At least 70 services on WR were cancelled owing to waterlogging at Bandra station.

The BMC has now asked Railways to finish the construction work before monsoon. In addition, the civic body has also prepared Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to be followed by all agencies – the traffic police, Railways, BEST – among others. Civic chief Ajoy Mehta has also directed additional municipal commissioners to keep track of the work and complete it by April. Out of the 225 chronic flooding spots identified last year, BMC plans to finish work on 78. Chronic spots are those where water takes longer to recede in case of heavy rain.