With just six months left for monsoon, Pune civic body yet to build retaining wall at Ambil Odha

PMC has proposed to build a 3-kilometre wall along 45 most affected locations in Ambil Odha to prevent flood waters from entering the residential areas

Against the backdrop of the September 25 flash floods in the city, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had proposed to construct retaining walls along the canals to prevent floods before the 2020 monsoon.

While work for the retaining wall is still to begin, the PMC hasn’t removed trash and other waste, including vehicles which were swept away by the flow of water during the flash floods. (HT FILE)

However, even though monsoon is just six months away, the civic body is yet to start the construction of the retaining wall.

While work for the retaining wall is still to begin, the PMC hasn’t removed trash and other waste, including vehicles which were swept away by the flow of water during the flash floods. Mayor Murlidhar Mohol who visited the flash flood-affected areas of southern Pune on Monday, said, “Administration has been asked to immediately clear the area.”

About the retaining wall, the civic body has proposed to build a 3-kilometre wall along 45 most affected locations in Ambil Odha to prevent flood waters from entering the residential areas. The cash-strapped civic body recently also ordered private developers to build boundary walls at their buildings at their own cost.

The PMC administration in a recent standing committee meeting in the first week of November passed a proposal to building the 3km retaining wall along the affected areas. VJ Kulkarni, chief of the hydraulic department, said, “We asked for the tenders to be passed as urgent business which will be accommodated in the upcoming budget 2020-21, but we want to build the wall urgently and so, we brought in the tender as an urgent business which was passed.”

Kulkarni further added that the wall will be built along the culverts in 45 locations and would cost the civic body Rs 78 crore. The tenders will be floated by December-end. Kulkarni said, “We will not only build the retaining walls, but also widen the culvert by chiseling the rocks from the bottom. We will also take action against the permanent structures which in any way come in the planned route.” Kulkarni also assured that the wall would come up before the upcoming monsoon.

When asked would the walls be built across the city nullahs, Kulkarni further said that it would be a massive project and would cost the civic body a huge amount. To ensure that private developers build retaining walls on private plots, the civic body at the standing committee passed an order that those developers who do not build walls will not be given further orders. Additional commissioner Rubal Agggarwal also said, that the local representatives including councillors, MLAs and MPs can use their funds to build retaining walls.

The September 25 flash floods had flooded the Mutha river which led to the wall collapse near Dandekar bridge. The sudden gush of water inundated the nearby areas flooding homes and nearby roads. The floods caused 21 deaths in Pune city.

History

The affected areas of the 25 September flash floods include Katraj, Sahakarnagar and Sinhgad road.

The PMC’s hydraulic department is responsible for the construction of the retaining wall. The civic body aims to build the wall before the next monsoon to protect the affected areas from any further damage.

Incident: Heavy rains triggered floods on Sept 25

No. of people dead: 26

No. of people missing: 02

No. of people affected by flash floods: 3.5 lakh

No. of vehicles damaged: 2,400

Areas which faced flooding: Katraj, Padmavati, Sahakarnagar, Sinhgad road, Ambegaon, Narhe

Worst-affected societies: Tangewale colony, Lake town, Gururaj Housing Society