Mithi-gation: Holding ponds to stop flooding?

Blaming the flooding of Mithi River for Wednesday’s chaos, the civic body now plans to build artificial lakes or holding ponds to ensure the river, which gets water

Blaming the flooding of Mithi River for Wednesday’s chaos, the civic body now plans to build artificial lakes or holding ponds to ensure the river, which gets water from three lakes in the city, does not overflow.

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On Wednesday, areas in central Mumbai, including Kurla, Matunga, Mahim and Sion, were submerged with water from Mithi, leading to shutting down of three lines of suburban trains, arterial roads and other means to connect south and southcentral Mumbai with the rest of the city.

At least 1,700 people had to be evacuated as the river crossed the danger mark, a third time this monsoon.

The river gets water from three lakes namely Vihar, Tulsi and Powai. The Mithi River meets the Arabian Sea at Mahim creek. In case of heavy rain, excess water from these lakes flows into the river which then gets flooded and inundates the areas on its banks.

Civic officials said diverting excess rainwater to alternative reservoirs instead of diverting them to Mithi can help water recede quicker.

Also, during high tide, it becomes more difficult to drain out water, considering the water from rivers cannot be thrown out into the sea during the period. According to BMC officials, as per the initial plan, artificial lakes or ponds could be built inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) or Aarey Colony.

Manish Valanju, assistant commissioner of BMC’s L ward (Kurla, Powai), said, “We are one of the affected wards, and I feel there needs to be a way to fix the problem of excess rainwater being drained out into Mithi River from lakes like Vihar and Powai.”

Praveen Darade, additional municipal commissioner of BMC (hydraulics), said, “We are going to appoint a consultant who will suggest a plan for construction of artificial lakes or ponds within city or wherever land is available. The excess water from these artificial ponds or lakes will later be drained into Mithi River when there is light or no rainfall. The consultant will also study if the water from artificial lakes or ponds can be put into use somewhere.”

Pankaj Joshi, executive director of the Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI), said, “Every planned city including Navi Mumbai has holding ponds. On Wednesday, there was more rainfall in Navi Mumbai than Mumbai but there was no flooding because they have planned holding points.”

Joshi added, “In case of Mumbai, they will find it difficult to implement it now considering there is no provision for it in Development Plan (DP) for 2034. These holding points should have been considered in the DP itself.”

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials moved people living on the banks of Mithi River.

While residents of Kranti Nagar in Kurla were moved to nearby Bazarwad municipal school, those evacuated
from Bamandaya Pada area in Marol were moved to nearby IES School.

Due to continuous rain, Mithi River crossed its danger mark at around 1.15pm on Wednesday.