Mumbai: BMC, CR inspect pre-monsoon works

As unexpected showers have already soaked several parts of Maharashtra, the BMC has ramped up the pre-monsoon works, which primarily include desilting and widening of some nullahs.

To review the works' progress, which has come under heavy fire from the BJP leaders, a team of BMC and Central Railway officials visited the vulnerable spots on Sunday. BMC additional commissioner (project) P Velrasu and CR senior divisional engineer (coordination) Suresh Pakhare together reviewed desilting work between railway tracks. They travelled from the CSMT to Mulund in a special railway bogie.

However, blame game starts every year between the BMC and railways if monsoon impacts train services, which get stopped due to inundation of tracks. In a bid to avoid the social faux pas, the civic body and railways jointly inspect the potential waterlogging spots before monsoon start.

Apart from cleaning silt from nullahs and extending their width, the BMC along with Central and Western Railways also unclogs culverts beneath tracks. The civic body also installs pumps to remove storm water and trims overgrown tree branches alongside tracks.

According to the BMC, Velrasu and Pakhare have expressed satisfaction over the cleaning works. They were accompanied by BMC deputy commissioner (basic infrastructure) Ulhas Mahale and chief engineer (storm water drainage) Ashok Mistri.