Preparing for monsoon: BMC floats tenders worth Rs 42.5 crore to repair, reconstruct storm water drains

The work will be carried out in Bandra, Goregaon and Borivali and civic officials said drainage systems identified as chronic flooding spots will be reconstructed and repaired. “Over the past 10-15 years the population and demography of the Western suburbs have changed exponentially, as a result of which the water flow and demand for well-equipped drainage system has also risen. Therefore, the existing drains are being augmented to ensure smooth flow of water and silt,” an official said.

According to civic officials, most of these drains remain choked due to floating waste materials, which mainly comprise of solid waste and garbage, resulting in overflowing of the drains during the monsoon causing waterlogging. “We will install iron rods in the drains to prevent the floating waste from affecting the flow of water especially during the rains,” the official said.

The civic body’s tender document states that the work in Borivali will cost around Rs 13 crore, while the reconstruction of the Bangur Nagar nullah in Goregaon will cost around Rs 9 crore. The cost of reconstructing and augmenting the drains at Pali Hill and Sherly Rajan village in Bandra (West) is set to cost Rs 8 crore and Rs 11 crore each.

BMC officials said the work order will be issued by end-January after the contractors are finalised. The entire project will take up 12 months to complete, they added.

Every year during December-January, the SWD department of the civic body issues a slew of tenders for reconstruction, augmentation and desilting of drains and suburbs as part of its monsoon preparedness.