Floodgates, more pumps to keep rainwater at bay

To ensure smooth and disruption-free train services during the monsoons, railway authorities have directed all officers to ensure pre-monsoon work is completed before the May 31 deadline. Officials have also been instructed to constantly monitor vulnerable locations and to work in close coordination with state government and municipal corporations.

The central Central Railways (CR) has de-silted and cleaned 59 km of drains on its suburban section and work is presently in progress on cleaning of another 59 kms of drains which will be completed before May 31, 2002. The CR authorities have also cleaned 38 culverts on the suburban sections and work is presently in

progress on cleaning of 45 more culverts. “We have also identified 7,893 locations near the track and other railway premises where trees need to be trimmed. The work is in full swing and will be completed before May 31,” said a CR official.

For smooth train operations in the ghat section, 334 boulder scanning and dropping works were undertaken and work is in progress for scanning and dropping another 260 boulders. Besides, the work of boulder netting to prevent falling has also been undertaken in the ghat sections.

The CR authorities have also identified around a dozen foot-over-bridges and will depute staff for crowd control during the monsoons. Additionally, static watchmen will be deployed at vulnerable locations. Pumping arrangements at Rahul Nagar nallah in

Chunabhatti will also be completed before the monsoons, along with work for widening the nallahs at Vidyavihar, Karve Nagar and the Santoshi Mata nallah. The work to connect newly constructed railway culverts to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) drain at Chunabhatti and the installation of CCTV cameras at 145 vulnerable locations along the ghat section, with floodlights, is also in progress and will be completed before the monsoons.

Authorities of CR's Mumbai division have also identified 19 vulnerable locations for waterlogging plan to provide 83 pumps at these locations. This year a total of 149 pumps will be provided, of which the Railways will be providing 118 pumps and MCGM will be providing the remaining 31 pumps.

The Railway authorities, have for the first time, also installed floodgates at vulnerable locations where waterlogging is possible. The CR has installed these flood gates at Chunabhatti, Sion, Kurla and Matunga which are in proximity to the Mithi River. Likewise, the Western Railway (WR) have put flood gauges at 36 locations including Bandra, Mahim and the VasaiVirar section to know the level of waterlogging.

According to CR authorities, these floodgates have been installed to prevent water from entering rail tracks, especially from Mithi River. “These floodgates will start closing in when water from outside rail premises starts entering during heavy rains. This will prevent excess water from entering rail tracks and we will remove the water collected on tracks using high-powered water pumps,” said the official. The Mithi River flows east-west and perpendicular to rail lines.

At present officials are carrying out pre-monsoon desilting at the Mithi River using a silt pushing machine and multi-purpose amphibious pontoon machine. Sources said that they are also carrying out micro-tunneling works as a long-term plan. “We are working out plans wherein after completion of necessary works by August this year, the site will be kept under observation to ascertain the necessity of micro-tunneling at the Mukhyadhapak culvert that falls along the Matunga-Sion section,” explained a CR official.