Zee Media Bureau
Mumbai: Although the southwest monsoon hit Mumbai a day earlier than its usual date on Saturday, the cheer barely lasted a day as torrential rains disrupted normal life on Sunday.
And, if reports are to be believed, then the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the railways are keeping a watch on the tide condition fearing sea levels could surge to disconcerting levels thereby further worsening the flood condition in the city.
According to the Met office, Mumbai recorded 89 mm rains on Sunday.
The forecast is heavy to very heavy rains over Mumbai and surrounding areas in the next 48 hours.
Torrential rains from Saturday night onwards has resulted in water-logging in several areas of the city, disrupting normal life.
The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) Disaster Management Cell said over one-and-half foot flooding was witnessed in Dadar east area following heavy rains on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Certain low-lying areas in Jogeshwari, Vikhroli, Mazagaon, Malad and other areas also reported water-logging after the downpour.
Traffic in many parts slowed as rains affected visibility. Flights too were delayed for the same reason.
Areas flooded, BMC passes the buck
Reports on Monday claimed that the pre-monsoon showers in the city during the pre-weekend days took Mumbai’s civic administration— Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) — by surprise and exposed their claims of the city being monsoon ready.
Weekend’s downpour, reports stated, flooded the streets in central, eastern and western parts of the city and raised doubts over BMC’s claims of having completed 94% of desilting work.
Senior BMC officials have blamed the water-logging not on the clogging of major drains in the city, but on the unkempt side drains and minor drains at the ward levels.
Clogging due to the garbage flow in drains during showers has been a bane for the bustling city.
Report suggest that the water logging after showers could also be because work on ‘nullah’ desilting and construction of two storm water pumping stations is behind schedule.
Work of two storm water pumping stations at Worli (Love Grove and Cleveland Bunder) to reduce water logging in flood-prone areas of Dadar (west), Parel, Chinchpokli and Currey Road has been delayed by a year and is not likely to get done for another year, senior BMC officials told DNA.
The delay in finding plots to dump silt has also delayed the desilting work.
