Water level in Mithi nears danger mark, BMC & NDRF evacuate residents

The residential units adjoining the periphery of the river comprise mainly slum clusters and hutments. Civic officials said the residents living in these hutments were relocated to a BMC-run school and community hall. During the July 26 deluge in 2005, the Mithi River exceeded the danger levels, leading to immense flooding in the western suburbs.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, civic officials said the overflowing of the Mithi River was anticipated since the city has been recording above normal rainfall since August 14. According to the BMC’s automated weather system (AWS), the eastern and western suburbs recorded 208 mm and 238 mm of rain each. While the areas like Vikhroli recorded 293 mm of rain, Dindoshi recorded 335 mm of rain. The adjoining Vihar lake had overflown on Monday while the Powai Lake also reached its full capacity in the past one week.

“The overflowing water from these two lakes flows directly into the Mithi River. In addition to this, there was 3.7 metres high tide. All these factors contributed to the swelling up of the water level in the river and we had to evacuate the local residents with the help of Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) before the water level could reach the danger mark,” said an official, adding that basic amenities like foods and drinking water were arranged at the shelter house. After the rains subsided, the water level receded to 3.6 metres by Tuesday afternoon.

People crossing railway track on foot as train services were hit. This year, the BMC couldn’t complete the desilting work of the river owing to the ongoing investigation of the Enforcement Directorate on the BMC’s desilting scam. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

However, the NDRF teams and MFB had been kept on standby by the authorities.

This year, the BMC couldn’t complete the desilting work of the river owing to the ongoing investigation of the Enforcement Directorate on the BMC’s desilting scam. According to the BMC’s records, till the arrival of monsoon, the BMC was able to achieve only 75% of its pre monsoon desilting target of Mithi and the process of post-monsoon desilting work is already underway where the authorities have achieved 10% progress so far.

Following the July 26 deluge, the Mithi River is being desilted annually ahead of monsoon as a flood mitigation measure. The process of desilting refers to the removal of silt, muck and sediments which get deposited on the beds of the water bodies. These sediments slow down the pace of water flow, which in turn results in overflowing of water, thus leading to waterlogging in the city on the occasion of heavy rain during monsoon.

However, civic officials have maintained that the incomplete desilting work was not the sole cause of concern that led to swelling up of the water level.

“The overall length of Mithi River has been divided into three stretches. While we have achieved 90% progress in pre-monsoon desilting at the first stretch, the progress had been slow in the second and the third stretches which showed that overall progress is less in terms of numbers. However, these factors are not going to be any cause of concern because at the BKC area, which falls in the second stretch, the river bed gets wide enough to allow a smooth flow of water in the case of heavy rains as a result of which the water didn’t reach the danger mark and got drained out smoothly after the intensity of rain stopped. In the third stretch, which is near the Mahim area, there is a dense mangrove cover that acts as a buffer against flooding and waterlogging. Also, this area has a wider outfall. So clearly, we have a natural geographical advantage,” a senior official said.

The desilting of the Mithi River was supposed to be completed by May 31. However, the civic body failed to meet its deadline. Later, following the early onset of monsoon, the deadline was revised to June 7. However, the second deadline was revised to June 30.

The officials maintained that the main reason for the slow progress of Mithi River desilting is the ongoing investigation of Rs 1,100 crore scam by the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Special Investigation Team (SIT) related to the desilting of Mithi River. The officials said that in May, the owners of the contractual firms along with their supervisors went absconding, leading to incomplete desilting work. Following which the BMC appointed a new contractor and civic officials said the desilting in Mithi River will continue even after monsoon gets over this year.

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