‘Don’t Throw Mattresses in Nallahs’: BMC Chief's Appeal to Mumbaikars, Assures New Tech for Potholes

Even as the first four days of monsoon in Mumbai have led to flooding in several areas, including the closure of Andheri subway at least twice, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has assured the residents of new underground tanks to be installed at several places to mitigate flooding in low-lying areas.

In an exclusive conversation with News18, BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said the new technology will cover potholes. “We have done a unique experiment. We have spent over Rs 100 crore for building underground holding tanks for high flood areas. At Hindmata Chowk, we have constructed underground water tanks with the holding capacity of 30 million litres. When it starts raining heavily, the water gets accumulated in the underground tanks, which is later thrown into the sea through pumps. Last year, there was no flooding and the traffic did not stop even for one minute at Hindmata. This year too, we will make sure that traffic does not stop at Gandhi Market and Hindmata, no matter how much it rains,” Iqbal Singh Chahal told News18.

He even said he is “proud” of the fact that there are no potholes so far on Dahisar-South Mumbai and Mulund to South Mumbai roads.

He said the BMC had earlier carried out the same experiment this year at Milan Subway, which was also prone to flooding. “Last Saturday, even when Andheri subway had to be shut, Milan was working. We are doing this for other subways as well. We are planning to build these underwater tanks in other parts of the city so that this problem will be tackled effectively,” he further said.

When asked about the woes Mumbaikars face due to the flooding of Andheri subway, especially at a time when the Gokhale Bridge too is shut for traffic, he said, “BMC has worked very hard and has handled the monsoon situation in Mumbai convincingly. On Saturday, we got a 140 mm rainfall in five hours. Please understand that in 24 hours, 65 mm rainfall is considered flooding. But the yardstick was, we got that water cleared in a couple of hours through our 480 dewatering pumps that are installed.”

He further said the Andheri subway has a peculiar topography as it lies in the low-lying area and fills up almost immediately. That is why, it used to be shut during monsoon every year for a month. “But now that the Gokhale Bridge is shut for repairs and reconstruction, we are forced to keep the Andheri Subway open. Now, we have put in five pumps to dewater the subway. Even on Saturday, it was cleared in 40 minutes.”

On the 10% water cut in Mumbai that will be implemented from July 1, Chahal said it will continue for at least a month before the review of the situation is done.

“Right now, the seven reservoirs, which supply water to Mumbai city, have only 7% water left. We are afraid…if a large gap comes, there will be a serious crisis. Last year, we had 9% storage. Two per cent is a lot. It is about 20 days of supply. So, out of a sheer matter of precaution, we have taken this decision. Although it is raining heavily here, there is less rainfall in the catchment areas. Rainfall matters for the dam and not for this area. So, after a few days, we will review the situation. So, if it rains well and our dams have good water capacity, then we will reduce the water cut,” he added.

Facing flak over desilting and on the effectiveness of cleaning of drains, Chahal said BMC has completed “114% of the work” — further than what was given in the proposed plan.

“Despite 140 mm of rainfall on Saturday, there was no problem on the banks of the Mithi river in those 24 hours. This is the first yardstick that our Nala Safai was successful. Mumbai has 480 flood-prone spots where water is bound to collect because Mumbai is saucer-shaped. Effectiveness lies in how fast we clear them and we dewater them,” he said. He also requested Mumbaikars to not dump large items such as wardrobes, refrigerators, mattresses in the nallahs of Mumbai as it was seen at Andheri subway.