Tunnel Of Hope

Work on the 12.24-km underground water tunnel,the longest in the city,is about 75 per cent complete. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had appointed the Hindustan Construction Company in 2007 to undertake the Rs 415-crore project,which is expected to be commissioned by September 2013.

HCC had,last week,completed drilling the entire stretch and day-lighting the tunnel. “We have completed the excavation part of the project,which was the most challenging. The concretisation work is also progressing as per schedule. Eight kilometers of concretisation has been completed,” an official said.

Once completed,the tunnel is expected to improve the water situation in south and central Mumbai by supplying 1,100 million litres daily. The tunnel will replace the old upper Vaitarna and Vaitarna mains in this section. It is expected to improve the water supply to Vakola,Mahim,Dadar and Malabar Hill significantly.

The 3.6m-diameter tunnel is being laid 80 ft underground by shafts at Maroshi,Vakola and Mahim,and then excavated horizontally using the tunnel-boring technique. It will connect the existing Ruparel College-Dr E Moses Road tunnel that supplies water to Malabar Hill.