Ready for monsoon only if rainfall is normal, says BMC

Mumbai The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday said that they are ready for the upcoming monsoon only if the rains are normal.

In a press conference on Thursday, P Velrasu, additional municipal commissioner (Projects), said that Mumbai is capable of tackling 60-70 mm of regular rainfall.

“In Mumbai, there are several areas that are below the sea-level. We are ready to handle an average of 60-70 mm rainfall. However, if there is more than 200 mm in a short span, then it could be a problem. Heavy rainfall like this is the result of extreme weather conditions and could happen unexpectedly,” said Velrasu.

He also stated that there are more than 150 chronic flooding spots in the city and the drainage system is also gravity-based, which poses a serious challenge to the civic body.

“Out of the 100 plus flooding sites we have in the city, we have tackled more than 30 so far. So, we are expecting that if it floods, then the rest of the areas that will be affected. We have placed 477 dewatering pumps in several locations across all the 24 municipal wards in Mumbai so that rainwater doesn’t get accumulated in the city,” Velrasu said.

Furthermore, he claimed that the Storm Water Drains (SWD) department has completed 100 per cent of its pre-monsoon desilting target, which is 75 per cent of the actual work, as the remaining 25 per cent will be removed after the onset of the monsoon.

Civic officials also maintained that owing to the climate change crisis, the extreme weather conditions have become a regular occurrence in Mumbai during the monsoon season as the city has been hit by cyclones for two back-to-back years. Senior officials said that teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), army and navy divers have been kept on standby in advance as a precautionary measure.

Velrasu said that this is for the first time, five columns of army will be stationed in Mumbai before the monsoon as a precautionary measure. Each column will have around 100 soldiers and officials.

The senior officials also maintained that this year, the civic body will be working towards solving all the pothole-related issues within 24-48 hours after citizens raise complaints in the Potholes Fixit mobile application.

Last year, nearly 30 people lost their lives in various monsoon-related disasters including landslides. The BMC has become extra cautious in landslide-prone areas like Mahul and Vikhroli and officials said that they have been creating awareness amongst residents to prevent any further catastrophe.