With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) being unable to solve the flooding woes of the Andheri subway till now, waterlogging is expected to persist in the area in the upcoming monsoon season as well. Civic officials, though, maintained that a measure will be adopted soon, leading to the mitigation of the crisis from next year.
Located 1 km from the Andheri railway station, the Andheri subway is a key east-west link in the western suburbs. However, during the monsoon, the subway is kept shut due to waterlogging. During 2025, the subway was shut 33 times between June and October. Before that, in 2024, the subway was shut 35 times during this period, and in 2023, it was shut 21 times.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Abhijit Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects), said the authorities are looking at two probable options – diversion of the existing drainage network and construction of a holding pond.
“However, the process of diverting the drains is going to be challenging since the drains have sharp turns, which cause disruption to the flow of wastewater, leading to clogs and reduced lifespan of pipelines,” Bangar added.
Therefore, sources said that a holding pond is likely to be the probable solution to counter flooding in Andheri.
A holding pond is like a detention basin that temporarily stores water during times of heavy rainfall. The water from a flood-prone area is routed to a nearby pond through pumps and pipelines, where the water is either kept in storage temporarily or channeled to nearby outfalls by using dewatering pumps. Besides tackling waterlogging during rains, holding ponds also act as a buffer between an area and its nearby water body.
In Mumbai, a holding pond was constructed in Hindmata Junction, which was a key flood-prone area. Following this, the issue of waterlogging in that area decreased by a large margin.
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The BMC has roped in IIT Bombay to chalk out the solution for Andheri. Bangar said that the BMC has set a June 15 target to finalise the plan of implementation, following which tenders will be floated, with the construction work set to begin by October this year.
‘Ambitious’ proposal
In 2024, the BMC had proposed a Rs 200 crore proposal to counter the flooding issue at Andheri Subway. The civic body’s objective was to augment the existing drainage system to ensure that the water-carrying capacity increases. In addition to this, the civic authorities had also planned to create an additional drainage line that would divert the flow of water in a separate direction towards the western side, eventually discharging the water to the nearby creek.
The two-phase project was supposed to begin in October last year and be completed by May 2026. However, the project didn’t take off.
“During our feasibility study and estimation for the project, we found out that the carrying capacity of the drains could be increased to tackle an average rainfall of 55 mm. At present, the carrying capacity is just 20 mm, and after the implementation of the proposed works, we would get only an additional cover of 35 mm of rainfall, which is not a wide range. Therefore, spending Rs 200 crore just to tackle 35 mm of rainfall will not be worth it, and we had to cancel this project to chalk out a more feasible project with a good cost-benefit ratio,” an official said.
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Why does the subway and its adjoining areas get flooded
The location of the subway is saucer-shaped in nature, which means the entry and exit points of the subway are elevated and have a slope-like curvature, due to which water from the adjoining areas travels downstream inside the subway. Besides this, the Mogra Nullah, which originates 2 km away from the subway, passes downstream, abutting the subway, and whenever the water in the nullah overflows, it enters the subway and stays accumulated there.
“One of the major challenges that we (BMC) are facing in keeping this particular point flood-free is the topography of this subway. This area is called the watershed area, and the gradient over there is very steep. Therefore, during the rain, water gushes inside the subway at a very high speed. Unless any large-scale structural intervention is carried out, it will continue to be a challenge to keep the subway entirely flood-free,” an official said.
Bangar also blamed the ‘reckless’ disposal of solid waste for choking the drain.
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“Often we see materials like suitcases, furniture, plastic items, bicycles, being disposed of in the drain when they are no longer of use. These items obstruct the water flow, which, in turn, leads to overflow of the drains, causing flooding in the subway. We have been holding dialogues with local residents as well; however, no concrete result has happened yet,” the official added.
