Water supply in Mumbai’s eastern suburb of Mulund will face an 18-hour disruption between Thursday and Friday as part of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) ongoing work on the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR). Officials stated that the interruption is linked to the construction of a bridge, which will serve as a key connector of the ambitious project. Ahead of piling activities for the bridge, the civic body plans to alter the alignment of a 1,200 mm water supply pipeline, which channels water from the reservoir to Mulund. The temporary suspension is necessary to ensure safe construction progress.
Civic officials explained that water supply through the affected channel would remain cut off while the alignment shift is executed, as any direct work risked damaging the pipeline. They emphasized that the suspension would last for 18 hours, from 10 am on August 21 until 4 am on August 22. Officials further indicated that the diversion is being carried out to create space for the bridge, and without shifting the line, there was a high chance of a pipeline burst. Authorities added that while supply would be restored as scheduled, residents were advised to consume boiled water for two days afterward.
In a related development, preparations for boring GMLR’s much-anticipated twin tunnels are also moving forward. The parts of the massive tunnel-boring machine arrived in Mumbai last month in 54 containers. The assembly process of this sophisticated equipment is currently underway, and actual boring work is expected to commence early next year. The twin tunnels, once complete, will rank among the most expansive underground road passages managed by the BMC, marking a significant milestone in the city’s transport infrastructure plans.
The Rs 6,500-crore GMLR project is designed to address long-standing traffic bottlenecks by linking Goregaon in the western suburbs to Mulund in the east. A crucial element of the project is the construction of two 6.65-km-long tunnels, which will begin near Film City and open at Amar Junction in Mulund, an area currently occupied by dense slums. Besides the tunnels, the initiative will feature arterial bridges, vehicular interchanges, and cable-stayed bridges. Officials noted that once operational, the corridor will substantially reduce east-west travel time, cutting journeys from nearly 115 minutes to just 90 minutes during peak hours.