Mumbai: BMC To Construct Underground Water Holding Tank To Tackle Flooding In Andheri

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will construct an underground water holding tank to collect the accumulated rainwater and pump it out into the Mogra Nullah, to abate flooding woes in the area.

The plan assumes importance because of the problems faced by commuters during monsoon, particularly as a result of the frequent waterlogging at Andheri subway and the delay in the opening of the Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge.

However, the work on the project will start only after the bridge is completed.

Two lanes of the bridge are to be open before the monsoon

The BMC had said it will open two lanes of the bridge before the monsoon, but a strike at the steel plant delayed the work and the deadline was pushed back by five months.

Commuters were left with only two options between the east-west link of Captain Vinayak Gore flyover and the Andheri Subway. However, the traffic situation worsened in Andheri in the last one month after heavy rains flooded the subway frequently.

The woes are compounded as the BMC's plan for constructing a pumping station at Mogra nullah still awaits environmental clearances. The civic authorities have thus opted for the sump pit model, which has been successful in Hindmata at Dadar, Gandhi Market in Sion, and Milan subway at Santacruz.

Under this model, rainwater will be collected in an underground chamber and pumped with the help of high-power machines into the Mogra Nullah.

Work to start only after the completion of the bridge

The catch is that work on the Andheri subway will create further inconvenience as the Gokhale Bridge is yet to open. As such, the work will start only after the bridge is completed by December 2023, said a civic official.

“The project is under planning. It will be executed before the next monsoon,” said additional municipal commissioner (projects) P. Velrasu.

“Last year we had the option of using the Gokhale Bridge, which was just a 1 km detour. However, the closure of the bridge has forced us to go to Captain Gore Bridge, which takes one hour,” said Dhaval Shah, of Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen’s Association (LOCA).

“The alternative step of constructing a water holding tank will only reduce the intensity of flooding. The real cause has been encroachment on the drains, which should be removed. The electric pumps installed inside the drain next to the subway could be taken further downstream so that it sucks out the water in the drain itself,” Shah said.