BMC needs to look at more sustainable, timely ways to deal with waterlogging: Mumbaiites

Mumbaiites affected by waterlogged streets every monsoon have one message for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) – while measures are being taken across the city to ease waterlogging woes, not enough is being done in a timely manner. The Opposition has also slammed the civic administration for shoddy pre-monsoon work and the civic body’s failure to learn lessons from the previous waterlogging incidents.

On June 23, HT conducted its annual monsoon audit with the help of three experts. HT visited seven spots — three nullahs in the western suburbs and two in the eastern suburbs as well two chronic waterlogging spots in the Island city. The panel of experts comprised senior urban planner and architect Rohit Shinkre, retired deputy engineer of BMC’s stormwater drains department Dilip Kamlakar Pathak and BMC’s retired assistant engineer Udaykumar Shiroorkar.

In a two-part series on Friday and Saturday, HT reported the panel’s verdict after the audit. The three experts on HT’s panel concluded that Mumbai is yet again not ready to handle the monsoon.

BMC has claimed that it has completed 104% of nullah desilting work across the city. While BMC’s effort to stay ahead of its pre-monsoon work cannot be denied, not enough has been done on ground to prepare the city for the rains.

Reacting to HT’s audit report of Mumbai’s monsoon preparedness, Ravi Raja, leader of Opposition in BMC, said, “Like every year, this year too, no cleaning or desilting work have been completed. The BMC claimed to have completed over 100% of desilting work, but on ground only 30-35% of the work is done. We have been demanding for a video-recording of the desilting work, but it has not been done and every year, the taxpayers’ money is being wasted.”

In tune with the suggestions presented by experts who were part of HT’s panel for the audit, citizens who have borne the brunt of waterlogging or partnered with BMC in the past to bring solutions to the problem in their areas believe that the civic corporation needs to look at more sustainable ways to deal with the issue, apart from carrying out the routine work of desilting nullahs properly.

After the audit, Shinkre said, “I feel that BMC is trying hard to do what it can to make the city monsoon-ready. Much of what can be done in this regard is fairly cosmetic in nature. We need some very deep strategic changes to manage our city and try and address the problems to make the city monsoon-ready.”

According to Debi Goenka, executive trustee of non-profit organisation Conservation Action Trust (CAT) the city’s stormwater drains are supposed to cater to monsoon water, but over the years they have doubled up as sewage lines, and dumping grounds. “BMC has been trying to convert natural creeks to canals, with concrete beds and sides, so as to maintain the storm water drains. However, due to this, the water has nowhere to go. With loss of mangroves, sea water is coming more towards the inland areas, aggravating the waterlogging situation during monsoon,” Goenka added.

HT’s panel of experts graded the ongoing work for construction of underground water-holding tanks at the chronic flooding spots of Gandhi Market and Hindmata with an average of 0.5 and 1.3 marks out of the total 5, citing the work as expensive in comparison to its utility. Citizens have given HT mixed responses over the work that is being done.

Civic activist and Matunga resident Nikhil Desai said, “The type of investment being done by installing huge pumps to drain out water from Gandhi Market area will solve the problem [of waterlogging] and such solutions are welcome. But the implementation has to be quick and smooth.”

However, Goenka said, “How many times does Mumbai flood in the monsoon? Five-six times? We would like to see the calculations on the capacity of the underground water-holding tanks being build to mitigate waterlogging at Hindmata and Gandhi Market. For example, have we calculated how much water gets logged in these areas in comparison to the capacity of these underground water-holding tanks?”

Other political leaders have slammed BMC for inaction.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator Prabhakar Shinde said, “We have been saying no work has been done. When BJP inspected Somaiya [Everard], Gazdar Bandh and P&T nullahs, we saw that desilting has not been done. Even though the administration claims that 100% of the pre-monsoon work has been completed, in reality, there is no proper work done by the contractor, and hence, waterlogging takes place. There is no supervision over the contractor’s work, and thus it gets ignored. As a result, citizens suffer every year.”

Desai said that if the problem of waterlogging in the city needs to be resolved, quick planning and constructions are necessary.

“After the 2005 deluge, BMC was to augment the drainage system to 50mm, but that has not happened even till today. Hence, by the time we augment our drains to handling 50mm rainfall on an hourly basis, the need will increase. This will later be a cycle where we will be spending money but won’t get the desired results, “said Desai.