Expect no water-logging this monsoon

Hindmata area, which is notorious for water logging during the monsoon, is expected to be free of flooding problems this year. Work on the Britannia pumping station is in the final stages and it will be operational this monsoon.

Every year, Hindmata and its surrounding areas get flooded during the monsoon, especially during high tide, which brings life to a standstill. To tackle this problem, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had decided to construct the Britannia pumping station at Reay Road.

According to civic officials, the work of setting up pumps at Britannia is in the final stage and will be completed by the end of this month. The pumping station will be commissioned before the monsoon.

When operational, the Britannia pumping station will bring relief to 10 major chronic flooding spots like Hindmata, Parel, Lalbaug, Byculla, Kalachowki, Abhyuday Nagar etc. The Rs 115 crore pumping station will have six pumps with the total capacity of discharging water at 36 cubic metres per second. The Mumbai Port Trust has given a 2,200-sq-metre plot on rent basis to the BMC for this pumping station for a period of 30 years.

Mayor Snehal Ambekar visited the Britannia pumping station on Saturday. “The pumping station will ensure that water accumulated in Hindmata and its surrounding areas is discharged properly even if there are heavy rains,” she said.

The Britannia pumping station has been constructed under the Brihanmumbai Storm Water Disposal System project, which is being implemented to prevent flooding and stagnation of water in low-lying areas of the city. The BMC has planned to construct eight pumping stations under the project. So far, four pumping stations, Haji Ali, Irla, Love Grove and Cleveland, out of proposed eight have been commissioned by the BMC.

The Gazdarband pumping station work at Santa Cruz has started, while the Maharashtra Costal Zone Management Authority has given its NOC to the Mahul pumping station. But the pumping station at Mogra (Andheri) is still awaiting environmental clearances.