During the monsoon season, Mumbai often turns into "Tumbai" (flood city) due to waterlogging caused by uncleared drains, resulting in significant inconvenience for residents. Mumbai has about 2200 km of drains. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde inspected the ongoing desilting work carried out by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation.
During this inspection, CM Shinde visited JK Chemical Nullah in Wadala, ATI Nullah in Chunabhatti, the Mithi River (casting yard) in Bandra, Majas Nullah in Jogeshwari, and the Dahisar River.
After his inspection, the Chief Minister addressed a press conference to provide detailed information regarding the preparations ahead of the monsoon.
"To ensure that desilting is properly done, I inspected five major nullahs today. All officials of the BMC, including Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, were present," CM Shinde said.
"To remove the garbage from these nullahs, 54,225 vehicles are being used. In areas like Hindmata, Milan Subway, and others where flooding occurs during rains, 482 pumps have been deployed. These pumps are in working condition, and the preparations aim to prevent flooding in these areas, thus avoiding any problems for commuters," CM Shinde added.
"During high tide, the sea does not take in more water, causing flooding in some areas and on roads. To address this, we have arranged underground tanks, where water will be pumped. These tanks have a capacity of 7 crore litres," he informed.
"These spots we visited today are mostly riverbanks, but they have turned into nullahs due to sewage water flowing into them. To stop this and clean the water flowing into these riverbanks and eventually into the sea, we have installed seven STPs (Sewage Treatment Plants)," he added.
CM Shinde also informed that people living in landslide-prone areas in the city will be moved out ahead of the rains and temporarily shifted to MMRDA houses.
The CM mentioned that nullahs narrowed by encroachment will be completely opened up to avoid flooding in certain areas. Residents in these areas will be compensated by the Municipal Corporation accordingly.
CM Shinde also stated that he has asked the BMC Commissioner to ensure the desilting of nullahs to the point where the hard base is visible. "It may retrieve more garbage and mud, but we must ensure that cleaning is done till the hard base," he said.
Deep cleaning will also be carried out in railway areas to prevent water flooding on tracks, CM Shinde said.
All teams from BMC, MMRDA, MHADA, Railways, and the Airport Authority will work together to prevent flooding, he assured.
CM Shinde advised officials to be on the field throughout the monsoon to ensure no flooding occurs. "Wherever flooding is observed, it will be considered that the work was not done diligently, and the government will not hesitate to take action against such officers," he warned.