TOI: Mulund may face flooding this monsoon: May 23, 2008

The main nullahs and stormwater drains in Mulund that start from the hills of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park have been choked with debris as the civic authorities are yet to take up the cleaning work of drains here.

The nullahs have been filled with debris by private contractors during road repairs and construction work throughout the year. Instead of penalising the contractors, the BMC has not even bothered to clean up the nullahs. 

The hill nullah is one such classic case. The drain starts right from the national park, then passes through Mulund colony—the closest residential locality near the park—and then goes adjacent to Nimkar housing society, Mulund station and ESIS hospital and then finally connects to the salt pans in the eastern suburbs.

“But the nullah is filled with debris and is choked. We had made several complaints to the BMC, but they have not cleaned up the nullah,’’ said Ajay Bhatia, a Mulund colony resident. He said last year, the same problem had occurred. 

“We had three-feet of water inside the houses. The worst part was that when the water receded, there were snakes, rats and crabs inside our houses which came in the overflow from the forest,’’ he said. 

Last year, residents said even the Mulund police chowky and ESIS hospital were flooded and the police chowky lost their files in the flood. “We were forced to pack our bags and go to our relatives’ places,’’ said Prahlad Sevlani, a Mulund resident.

Residents said that both the BMC and MMRDA should be blamed for this problem. “The culverts, meant for the smooth flow of stormwater on LBS Marg (constructed by MMRDA) have underground wires of service providers like MSEB. This is why water does not flow smoothly. The culverts are not connected to main ducts that pass through the centre of the road. Last year, LBS Marg was flooded. This year also, we fear this is going to happen as nothing concrete has been done till date,’’ said Prakash Padikal, president, Hill Road Residents’ Welfare Association. 

Meanwhile, a senior BMC official from the stormwater department said that around 54% of the desilting work of nullahs has been completed in the eastern suburbs. “In the next two weeks, we will move fast and clear up most of the debris,’’ the official said.

Mayor inspects open drains in suburbs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: As part of her drive to inspect ongoing civic works across the city, Mayor Shubha Raul on Thursday visited several open drains in the western suburbs, only to find them encroached upon by private structures and slums. This, Raul said, could lead to widespread flooding during the monsoon.

The first citizen of Mumbai told civic officials that such unauthorised construction along the drains will not be tolerated. “Those responsible for this would be punished if the areas around these drains get flooded as a result of these structures,’’ Raul said.

In their defence, the administration has said that most desilting work in the city is near completion.

Almost 70% of desilting work in the city’s drains is complete and the rest will be taken care of before the end of May, said officials. 

During her visit, Raul also found a residential tower constructed right beside a drain at the BMC pumping station at Cleaveland Bunder in Worli. “This is a blatant violation of civic laws. But not only this, I’ve also learnt that several Slum Rehabilitation Building (SRA) buildings have come up along drains in western suburbs. And if this continues, there is every likelihood that the city will get flooded during the monsoon,’’ Raul said.