The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started installing 100 sensors at chronic spots prone to waterlogging across the city, to measure the amount of water logged at a spot and the time taken to drain it out, in real-time. The move will help the civic body in addressing issues regarding waterlogging in Mumbai more effectively. Along with the sensors, the BMC is likely to install automatic rain gauges — which will calculate the amount of rainfall recorded, and help in determining the point at which waterlogging begins — at these spots. The ARGs will also have temperature sensors for mapping the urban heat islands in Mumbai. The BMC has appointed its Storm Water Drains (SWD) Department and the Disaster Management (DM) Department to coordinate for the project. The SWD Department is setting up the sensors and the DM Department the AGRs and temperature sensors, at the feasible spots. Feed from both the equipment will be supplied in real-time to the BMC's DM control room located at the civic headquarters in Fort. According to the directives from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the ARGs are supposed to be installed at the rate of one machine for every 2 square per kilometre (sq/km). At present, there is only one machine for every 4 sq/km in Mumbai. The DM Department has received a proposal to set up 97 such ARGs in the limits of Greater Mumbai, under the BMC's jurisdiction. "We have asked them to submit a review report of whether all the 97 ARGs are required, or if the number of ARGs could be revised. We are awaiting a report on the same," said a senior civic official, requesting anonymity. Meanwhile, the SWD Department has started setting up sensors at spots prone to waterlogging. "At present, we gauge the level of water logged on rough parameters. We release numbers that say 'two feet of logged water' or 'two inches of logged water' for say 20-25 minutes of a few hours. The sensors will give us real-time data for these assertions," said another senior official. While the sensors are being installed at the ground level, the ARGs will be installed atop the tallest feasible building in the area.
