BMC chief comes up with 3 solutions to reduce flooding

After scrutiny and spot surveys to find out the reason for waterlogging after heavy rain on September 4, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday attributed it to the overflowing of Mithi river.

Municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi came up with a three-point solution to the problem and directed the administration work on it on a war footing.

Spillage from Vihar and Tulsi lakes, which are in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, will be channelised to underground tanks that will be constructed between Bhandup and Mulund.

Slum encroachments from Kranti Nagar, Kismat Nagar and Bakshi Singh compound opposite Kismat Nagar, all located at Kurla, will be removed before November 1 so that Mithi can be widened.

A senior civic official said, “Mithi at these three places is 50 to 60 metres wide, and we want to increase its width to 100 metres. So, the slums must go.”

Pardeshi directed the administration to invoke the disaster management Act and remove slum encroachments.

The third solution is installing flood gates at 20 outfalls of storm water drains that flow into Mithi river.

During its spot surveys, BMC noticed that spillage from Vihar and Tulsi lakes into the Mithi was using up its water carrying capacity which is what happened on September 4.

Additional municipal commissioner Vijay Singhal, in charge of the storm water drains department, said, “We want zero spillage from Vihar and Tulsi. We will prepare a report after identifying areas where tanks can be constructed underground to store this water. One of the areas under consideration is under the Bhandup Complex.”

On September 4, up to three metres of spillage from the lakes drained into the Mithi. This coupled with heavy rain made the river water overflow and waterlog roads. No storm water drains could release accumulated water into the river. Instead, water from the river flowed into the city, flooding it further.

Singhal said, “BMC has identified 20 such outfalls and will install gates at their mouths, which will be closed if the river is overflowing. This will stop backward flow of water. Tenders for this will be floated in the next two days.”

First Published: Sep 10, 2019 00:17 IST