Mumbai: In the light of the August 29 flood, railways and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) held a meeting last week in which 29 critical spots in need of culverts along the railway line were identified. Officials have said that Railways has submitted the design for the proposed culverts, which will be created at Kurla, Masjid, Vikhroli and Mulund, among others places, to the BMC.
The Railways and the civic body were severely criticised after the water level on the tracks had risen to such a high level that both the Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) had come to a standstill. The railways have also asked the BMC to provide dustbins along the tracks as many of the slum dwellers tend to dump trash on the tracks indiscriminately, leaving no place for the water to escape.
A CR official said, “The BMC has also assured us that it will contribute around '55 crore for this work and will be working with us to make sure that the required micro-tunnelling work will be completed well within time and without disrupting the current system.”
The meeting comes after the September 29 Elphinstone Road stampede when the need of such a committee was reiterated. The meeting was chaired by education minister Vinod Tawde and will be held between all of the city’s civic authorities such as the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA), the BMC and, off course, Railways.
The CR is also slated to mark off area falling in a 150-metre radius from the railway premises, which will be declared a no-hawkers zone.
