As heavy rain lashes the city throughout Friday, many low lying areas got inundated, blocking roads and diverting traffic movement. Mahatma Gandhi Market at Matunga witnessed heavy water logging once again, thus pushing BMC's claim down the drain.
After getting a mini pumping station at Mahatma Gandhi market, the BMC officials said that the civic body has successfully resolved the issue of water logging in the area which is one of the chronic flooding spots in the city. After moderate to heavy rains on Monday and Wednesday, the area did not report any significant water logging incident like earlier when it got flooded even after 15 mm to 20 mm rainfall.
Gandhi Market near Matunga, a low-lying area that never escapes waterlogging during monsoon every year, however this year BMC claimed that the area will have respite with the mini pumping station, which has a capacity to pump out 2.33 lakh litre of floodwater per minute, BMC officials.
As part of the first phase of the project at Gandhi Market, the mini-pumping station will carry floodwater to the Bharat Nagar railway nullah near King Circle, from where it will be carried to the sea. In the second phase, floodgates will be built at the nullah to ensure that water during high tide does not enter the market during heavy rainfall.
Gandhi Market is a low-lying area on Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, an arterial road connecting eastern suburbs to the island city, and witnesses heavy traffic. However, after continuous heavy rainfall throughout on Friday, the area was waterlogged, pointing out to the civic body that there is much more to be done to resolve the waterlogging issue in the area.
Meanwhile, Nikhil Desai, a social activist and resident of Matunga, said, “Due to waterlogging at Gandhi market area since 7.55 am on Friday, traffic going from Dadar to Sion, which is northbound, was at a standstill and had to turn back on King Circle flyover. But the southbound traffic going to CST is still moving.”
According to BMC officials, waterlogging was caused by continuous heavy rainfall during a short period of time that did not allow for the water to drain out.
