Beat the Rains: How BMC is Preparing For Monsoon in Mumbai?

Mumbai: Mumbai rains are infamous for wrecking havoc in the city. The city gets inundated badly when the monsoons strikes, resulting in deadly potholes in every nook and corner of the roads. Additionally, the heavy rainfall leads to waterlogging, traffic disruptions and occasional flooding. 

This year, three teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will be kept ready in Mumbai in the upcoming monsoon season, the city civic body said on Wednesday.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner and administrator Bhushan Gagrani also suggested deploying an additional NDRF team in the eastern suburbs, as they have several landslide-prone spots, as per an official release.

Speaking at a pre-monsoon coordination meeting of various agencies, Gagrani also asked officials of the Navy and Fire Brigade to keep their teams and divers prepared to face any emergency during monsoon.

Officers of Central Railway, Western Railway, India Meteorology Department, the Navy, NDRF, Mumbai Traffic Police, MHADA, and PWD attended the meeting held at BMC headquarters.

The civic body has already announced plans to install 481 pumps in the island city and suburbs for pumping out flood water from low-lying areas.

Gagrani also called for coordination among all agencies concerned to tackle the issue of flooding in low-lying areas. He directed civic officials to use geo-tagging and act against the person concerned if any pump fails to start on time or develops a snag.

He directed civic officials to keep all 25 ward-level control rooms ready with the necessary equipment.

Gagrani called for necessary action in the event of rain-triggered landslides in the city. (With inputs from PTI)