WR to augment drain network by May 15

The Western Railway (WR) authorities have set a deadline of May 15 to clean several kilometers of gutters and culverts on the ChurchgateVirar route. The activity is a vital part of the railways' premonsoon preparations. The WR authorities have identified 53 culverts that need to be cleaned and 61 km of drains that will undergo desilting along the route. However, the work is yet to begin.

Meanwhile, WR authorities have begun clearing garbage strewn along the rail tracks and the muck accumulated using the 'muckspecial' trains. This year, approximately 1.60 lakh cubic meters of muck is expected to be cleared along the rail lines to prevent the choking of drains and culverts. Every monsoon, one of the primary reasons for waterlogging is unclean drains and choked culverts which are supposed to drain water away from the tracks onto the neighbouring roads and / or water bodies including the Mithi, Poisar, Dahisar rivers.

There are a total of 205 culverts that act as channels to drain water out of the rail premises falling the WR's Mumbai division. “Of these, there are 137 culverts along the Churchgate-Virar-Surat section. Only 5 such culverts falling in the Udhna-Jalgaon section have been cleaned so far, which is around 2 per cent of the total,” said a WR official.

Likewise, the work of desilting the drains and cleaning the side drains passing along the tracks also needs to be addressed. There are 61 km of drains along Churchgate-Virar section and another 65 km on the Virar-Surat section which are a part of the total 174.79 km of drains that need attention. The remaining 48.79 km falls in the Udhna-Jalgaon section where the WR authorities have begun work and completed cleaning 3.8 km of drains.

Another important measure to ensure there is no water-logging on rail tracks is by installing de-watering pumps at vital locations close to the rail lines. The WR officials have stated that they will be installing 298 dewatering pumps, some of them high-powered. Of these, 206 pumps will be installed along the Churchgate-Virar section. Another 59 pumps will be installed on the Virar-Surat section, which includes six pumps that would be placed along the newly-constructed dedicated freight corridor. These shall be procured by the end of May, said an official.

During 2021-22, 1.60 lakh cubic metres of muck and garbage were cleared from the tracks in the WR's suburban section. Authorities have identified 106 locations known to be garbage dumping spots. The muck and dumped garbage deface the tracks and more importantly, also clogs the drainage network crossing under, leading to water-logging during the monsoons.