To prevent flooding in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to increase the number of de-watering pumps during the monsoon. This year, 272 de-watering pumps will be installed in the city as against the 244 pumps last year.
Additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Deshmukh said, “In a review meeting with ward-level officials, it was decided that the number of de-watering pumps be increased to deal with water-logging incidents effectively. In addition to this, two more pumps will be kept in each wards for replacement if any of them break down.”
Corporators have alleged that last year at several places the de-watering pumps were found to be not working, causing a lot of inconvenience to people living in low-lying areas during heavy rains. Senior Congress corporator Waqarunnisa Ansari said, “The BMC spends a lot of money on these de-watering pumps every year. But what is the use if they are not operating well ”
Mr Deshmukh said that last year the BMC found that de-watering pumps had broken down at 18 places in the city. “We have proposed heavy fines for contractors this year if de-watering pumps are found not working. They will be fined Rs 10,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 for the breakdown of dewatering pumps depending on their capacity.”
As a part of the disaster management plans, the civic body has also decided to deploy civic employees on a permanent basis in each ward.
