With monsoon around, Vijay Balamvar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Zone IV, conversed with Media Eye correspondents-Shraddha Bansode and Sonia Virani on the preparedness of the BMC for the season and the progress made under the Brihanmumbai Stormwater Disposal System (BRIMSTOWAD) project.
MEDIA EYE: How prepared is the BMC for the upcoming Monsoon and how much work has been completed in regard to each department?
VIJAY BALAMVAR: There is kind of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for preparedness for the monsoon for each department.
The work of Storm Water Drains Department (SWD) is drainage cleaning, desilting of major and minor nullahs, construction of walls in case of collapse, encroachment removal of nullahs, cleaning of roadside drain which is 90% done.
Road department work is made up of removal of bad patches, covering open manholes, footpath repairing, and reinstatement of trenches and cleaning water entrances. This work is 30-50% completed.
Solid Waste Management (SWM) work is 100% done which includes clearance of garbage, backlogs, silt, and debris.
Pruning and cutting down of trees which are dangerous is done. This work is handled by the Garden Department.
The deadline given to us is first week of June.
ME: In case of floods, is there an anti-flooding management in place?
VB: Yes, every department is equipped with man power machinery, SOP is in place.
We have already appointed a contractor under the Tree Department to cut down the dangerous trees from all the premises including private land. Special contractor has been appointed in my zone which includes 3 wards, and 38 pumps have already been deployed.
For the Road Department the work is in process. Potholes’ repairing is done. Worli plant is working in 3 shifts. Contractors are also in place. For cleaning out the regular garbage, cleaning team is also ready.
ME: What steps has the BMC taken to manage the traffic during monsoon?
VB: Traffic will not stop. If there is 25 mm rainfall in an hour then it is likely that few flooding spots will be generated. But we have taken care that there should be no waterlogging.
ME: What actions have the BMC taken for the anti hawking drive and what is the progress?
VB: Regular hawker removal action will be taken with 100% effectiveness. Extra vehicle will be provided for hawker removal team during monsoon.
ME: How prepared is the BMC for post monsoon epidemic diseases?
VB: Public health department is ready. Post monsoon epidemic diseases like malaria, dengue are likely to spread. For this, we have tied up with government hospitals and medical colleges and are conducting regular health camps in slums. Also, we have teams to remove various articles like tires and plastic from the roof of slums which are breeding houses for the mosquitoes. Also, we have sent notices to co operative societies for not creating breeding spots. Regular fogging is also in process.
ME: Are there any changes in the water supply system of the BMC?
VB: There are no changes as such but we are improving the existing water system. As the system is old, pipelines are corroded and generate low pressure for supply of water which is a major problem. After repair, these pipelines will have internal coating and will maintain high pressure. Major water supply in city and suburbs is done through tunnels. For this purpose, 4 tunnels are already in place:
Malad – Kandivali
Andheri East – Bandra
Bandra – Mahim (Ruparel College)
Ruparel College – Mahalakshmi Race Course
ME: What is the progress of the Brimstowad project?
VB: This project has various elements like cleaning of nullahs, construction of walls on both the sides of the naalas. Out of this 90% of work has already been completed since the last 4 years and the remaining 10% may not be done in the mere future. The width of nullah is not available with us and also the area comes under private land and forest area. When the project was implemented in 2005, there was no forestation.
The construction of 2 pumping stations is completed which are located at Haji Ali junction and Irla. Two more stations are on the verge of course of action out of which the station at Worli is under construction the one at Shivdi is in process. Along with this, 4-5 more pumping stations have to be constructed each costing around 200 crores which will take 2-3 years.
Emergency helpline number during monsoon – 1916 (Disaster Management)
