Flood-free monsoon: drainage system widened on NCL Road

If PMC officials are to be believed,this monsoon,people of the area won’t face any hardships during heavy rain.

One can expect the road to be free of hurdles by mid-June,say PMC officials.

“On this particular spot,water rushes downhill from the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE). Earlier,there were narrow,900-mm diametre drainage pipes. Plants and rocks get clogged in such narrow pipes causing waterlogging. Now,we have replaced the pipes with 9X24 metre concrete drainage channels to ensure a large volume of water can flow freely,” said N D Gambhire,executive engineer,Road,Western Pune. Given that the road is just 30 metres wide,the work has been inconveniencing commuters and bigger vehicles like buses and trucks.

At the junction,water rushing from ARDE hills joins the Lamantanda nullah,which empties it into Ramnadi. While encroachments in Ramnadi bed are constantly being talked about,a visible reason for waterlogging on the NCL-ARDE Road,where the nullah intersects the road,was pipes being too narrow to drain out large influx of water efficiently. In October 2010,waterlogging after heavy rain led to collapse of the compound wall of ARDE,a sensitive defence establishment.

Gambhire adds,“Four culverts are being constructed along the nullah. Two costing Rs 45 lakh each are on NCL Road,while the other two,costing Rs 30 lakh each,are at Lamantanda slums downstream. The culverts at Lamantanda are complete,while the ones on NCL road are expected to be completed within a week. Given the curing period of three weeks post completion of the work,the road would be opened mid-June.”