Mumbai: BMC backtracks, opts for initial 2 cr litre tank to solve waterlogging issue at Milan subway

Mumbai: To prevent flooding at the Milan subway, the BMC on Thursday invited a tender to build a storage tank which can hold about two crore litres of water.

It will be modelled on the two storage tanks that the civic body has constructed at Dadar and Parel to make the Hindmata junction flood-free. But the increase in tank's capacity has added Rs 15 crore more to the budget. The original project cost was Rs 33 crore.

Milan Subway, which straddles between Vile Parle and Santacruz, is one of the chronic flood spots in the western suburbs which causes massive traffic jams during monsoon. To make the subway flood-free, the BMC has earlier increased the width of the stormwater drain.

Also, every year high-capacity pumps are installed to flush out water from the subway. As these efforts didn't give the desired results, the civic body decided to construct an underground water holding tank like the one in the Hindmata.

BMC's stormwater network becomes ineffective during heavy rain

The city's stormwater network becomes temporarily ineffective if the heavy rainfall is coupled with high tide. At this time the underground tanks will hold the floodwater until it could be released.

The BMC constructed a storage tank at Pramod Mahajan Kala Park in Dadar West and another at the St Xavier Ground in Parel last year. The civic body has decided to increase the capacity of the Dadar tank to 6 crore litres and the one at Parel to 4 crore litres.

The tank will have capacity of 15,000 cubic metres

The initial plan was to build a tank of 2 crore litres capacity but the figure was later brought down to 15,000 cubic metres. But after deliberation, the BMC decided to proceed with the original plan. “The water from the subway will be channeled to the tank and then it will be pumped out into the stormwater drain. Two pumps with a capacity of 3000 cubic metres per hour will be commissioned so that the water can be pumped at 6,000 cubic metres per hour,” said the civic official of the stormwater drain department.

BMC Additional Commissioner (Projects) P Velarasu said, “There is some increase in capacity of the tank and hence the cost has increased. With this increased expenditure, the storage of flood water can be done in a higher quantity. We expect that the work will be completed by January 2023.”

BMC Planning to set up mini-pumping station

The BMC is also planning to set up a mini-pumping station on the eastern side of the Andheri station where the maximum proportion of water gets accumulated during monsoon. With the help of eight pumps, the rainwater will be pumped out and discharged into a Mogra nullah.