MUMBAI: Only last week, a high-level meeting between multiple agencies, including the railways and the BMC, was chaired by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to discuss measures to be taken as part of monsoon preparedness works. On Monday, it all came to nought, with Central Railway (CR) collapsing mainly due to water logging in South Mumbai.
Given the 8-9 inches of water on the rail tracks, it was impossible for trains to move. Suburban trains move cautiously at speeds of 5-10 kmph if water levels are around 4-5 inches above the tracks. The Harbour line was shut for an hour in the morning between CSMT and Wadala stations due to water logging and accumulation of debris at Masjid station.
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The Central Railway authorities blamed the sudden downpour and closure of the pumping station at Yellow Gate, which led to water accumulation on the tracks. The rail authorities during last week’s meeting knew about the heavy rain prediction on May 26 but not the timing.
“What we did not know was that the rain would coincide with the high tide,” explained a railway official. “That worsened the situation. The primary reason for today’s disruption was high tide coupled with 80 mm of rains in just one hour (from 10 am to 11 am) in the CSMT-Masjid area. The flood gates exiting at Yellow Gate and leading to the Arabian Sea were shut due to high tide, which led to water retention and accumulation. When there is no outlet for water, it is bound to flood the tracks.”
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Central Railway and Western Railway claim to have completed 75-80% of nullah cleaning and removal of muck and debris as part of their pre-monsoon works.
At last week’s meeting, various aspects of the early rains, ongoing works and their deficiencies were discussed. Work to clean the drainage lines and removal of muck and silt from gutters and nullahs passing under the railway lines have been going on since March. Railway officials agree that they are not able to do much when it comes to stopping the dumping of garbage by slum dwellers living next to the railway lines, which undoes all the cleaning efforts.
The work done so far includes micro-tunnelling work (to prevent water from accumulating on the tracks), which is nearing completion at Sion-Kurla, Vikhroli-Ghatkopar and Sandhurst Road. To address waterlogging issues on the Harbour line, track levels have been raised between Kurla and Chunabhatti. Central Railway authorities have identified 33 sensitive locations prone to water-logging, where 112 pumps have been planned.
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