Every year, the Andheri subway in Andheri East experiences waterlogging during the monsoon, causing vehicles to get stuck in the water and resulting in traffic jams that last for several hours. Despite the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) taking several measures, including setting up high-duty pumps to remove water, instances of waterlogging in the subway persist.
To address this issue, the civic body has introduced a digital signboard in Andheri East that updates the status of the subway. If the subway is waterlogged, the signboard will display a "closed subway" message. This will prevent motorists from entering the subway and direct them to a safer route. “Though the initiative is not a permanent solution to waterlogging, it will prevent vehicles from getting stuck in traffic jams and causing further trouble,” said an official from the K East ward.
An official from BMC noted that the subway was closed due to flooding more than 20 times last year. “Previously, during heavy rainfall, motorists in a hurry would enter the subway and get stuck. Now, the signboard will prevent them from heading towards the subway if there is a flooding situation,” said the official, adding that there has been a demand from Andheri West to install similar signboards. The Andheri subway is one of the chronic sites where flooding during heavy rainfall is common. Despite the BMC widening the nullah and installing high-capacity pumps, flooding has not been eliminated. The signboard was installed last year, and its usefulness and popularity are now evident. “There has been a demand from other areas to install similar signboards,” said the official, adding that messages have been displayed again this year.
This year, the civic body has identified 453 waterlogging sites in Mumbai. “Out of these, 355 places will not get flooded, and work is in progress at 98 places,” said a senior official. Some of the major chronic waterlogging spots include Milan Subway, Andheri subway, Marol, low-lying areas around Parel, Wadala Truck Terminus and Antop Hill, Kalpana Cinema in Kurla, Nana Chowk in Grant Road, Kalanagar Junction in Bandra, and Dahisar.
The BMC will install a total of 481 dewatering pumps in low-lying areas during this monsoon, with the civic body expected to spend around Rs 1.25 crores. While the civic body claims to have reduced the number of flooding spots, the number of dewatering pumps to flush out excessive water from low-lying areas has increased. Last year, it installed a total of 477 pumps.