To prevent flooding, BMC constructs wall around Poisar river

Mumbai In a bid to abate flooding at the Kandivli, Malad and Borivali areas in the western suburbs, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has constructed a protective wall alongside the banks of Poisar river.

To bring an end to the flooding problem, the BMC constructed a 100-metres long retaining wall alongside the banks of the river at Dahanukarwadi in Kandivali (west) from where water mainly overflows during monsoon. Civic officials said that the entire riverbed was taken over by slum dwellers which created obstructions in the flow of the river.

“There were 29 such huts and shanties obstructing the flow of water. We have removed these structures from the adjoining areas and have created a wall to prevent further encroachment,” said the official.

The officials also maintained that most of the slum dwellers were illegal encroachers, due to which it is not the civic body’s responsibility to provide them with alternate accommodation. The BMC officials have also maintained that since the last few years, they have received complaints of the river overflowing in this area.

“We evicted the encroachers and built the wall in 15 days. We had issued notices to the encroachers, following which eviction drive was started. After that, an inspection of the area and soil test was carried out and construction of the wall was initiated. The project was completed on June 11,” said the official.

The BMC last year had announced the Poisar river Rejuvenation plan which includes installing Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) on the banks of the river. Officials said that post monsoon, the civic body will start widening the riverbed in the remaining areas by removing the illegal encroachers to ensure smooth flow of water.

The 11.15 kilometre Poisar river originates from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and flows into the Arabian Sea, via the Marve Creek. Over the years, the bank of this river has been encroached by slum dwellers, causing serious flooding in the Kandivli area during monsoon.