Heavy rains coupled with high tide and gusty winds led to ‘uncommon flooding’ in pockets of South Mumbai on Wednesday. Taraporewala Aquarium in Marine Drive, Haji Ali junction and Peddar Road witnessed waterlogging Wednesday morning, for which residents blamed Metro construction as well as land reclamation for the Coastal Road project. The Coastal Road construction work is ongoing near the Taraporewala Aquarium at Marine Drive.
The Mumbai civic body stated that downpour and the high tide with waves reaching up to 4.68 metres on Wednesday afternoon led to flooding at chronic flooding spots in the suburbs and the island city.
Mahendra Hemdev, a resident of Marine Drive, said waterlogging was not severe or widespread. But, he added, due to coastal road reclamation, there has been displacement of water. “This gushing seawater and floodwater has to come out somewhere. But the water does not stagnate and drains out once rainfall recedes.”
Waterlogging was also recorded at the Andheri subway at 8.30 am, which was shut for vehicular movement. The traffic was diverted to S V Road via Gokhale bridge till 9.52 am.
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One house collapse, 68 tree fall incidents and one landslide were recorded in the city on Wednesday. As a precautionary measure, several families were shifted to a safer location after a portion of Powai hillock collapsed on a structure. No injury was reported due to rain-related incidents.
Sion Road 24, Dadar TT, Sukkur Panchayat Road and Shaikh Mistry Dargah Road in Wadala were waterlogged. At 8.30 am, water up to half feet high was seen at the Kamani junction in Kurla and Neelam junction in Deonar. Traffic was moving slowly near Khar railway station in Khar (East) amid waterlogging.
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At 9.40 am, traffic flow was affected on Pedder Road in South Mumbai after a BEST bus broke down. At 11.40 am, a tree fell down on the Nathalal Parekh Road near Matunga Don Bosco School and vehicular traffic was temporarily diverted to Chaar Rasta.
Massive traffic jams were reported on the Western Express Highway and at Borivali (East) and Andheri (East). Traffic movement was also affected due to heavy rain that led to waterlogging, treefall incidents and bus breakdowns in Andheri, Santacruz, Bandra, Kurla, Deonar and Pedder Road.
However, flood water from the infamous and chronic waterlogging spots like Hindmata and Gandhi Market receded faster in comparison to earlier, when water used to recede in three to four hours and sometimes even eight hours. Every monsoon, high capacity dewatering pumps are placed at Gandhi Market and Hindmata to drain excess rainwater.
After more than two decades of waterlogging woes, BMC has constructed two underground water tanks at Pramod Mahajan Park in Dadar West and St Xavier Ground in Parel to provide a catchment for the floodwater from Hindmata. A mini-pumping station with 2.33 lakh litres per minute capacity has also been built.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/flooding-in-low-lying-areas-massive-traffic-jams-affect-mumbai-8027649/
