The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has stepped up its monsoon preparedness by identifying 174 structurally unsafe buildings, 249 landslide-prone locations, and 496 flood-prone areas across Mumbai, of which 403 have already been addressed.
Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide shared the details during the civic body’s pre-monsoon briefing on Tuesday, outlining the status of safety and drainage readiness across the city.
Out of the 174 buildings classified under the ‘C1 dangerous category’, 72 have already been vacated. “Some are vacated but not demolished. Seventy-one buildings have a stay order, and we will move court. We are also sensitising people who are reluctant to vacate or give an undertaking,” Bhide said.
On landslide risk management, the BMC has mapped 249 vulnerable locations and categorised them into sensitive and highly sensitive zones. Construction of protective retaining walls is currently underway at 96 sites. The civic chief added that assistant commissioners and Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority have been instructed to reassess existing protective structures to ensure they remain effective and unclogged.
Regarding flooding, 403 out of 496 identified waterlogging points have been resolved, while the remaining 93 may still see temporary accumulation during heavy rainfall. Pumping systems have been deployed at critical locations.
To strengthen flood response, the BMC will deploy 547 dewatering pumps from May 5. This year, all pumps will be equipped with IoT-based monitoring systems. “These can be monitored via smartphones, and a central control room at headquarters will track their performance. This system will allow real-time monitoring of pump uptime and help identify pumps that are not functioning,” Bhide explained.
Desilting work is also underway, with overall progress at 38.97% for major drains. Western suburbs are at 45%, while eastern suburbs lag at 26%. Work on the Mithi river stands at 27%, and minor drains have reached 45.64% completion.
The civic body has also identified nearly 59,720 trees for pruning and reviewed preparedness of the NDRF and fire services. On roads, 1,745 km out of 2,050 km have been concretised, helping reduce pothole-related costs significantly over the years. A new ‘pothole fix-it’ app is also being introduced for faster grievance redressal.
Bhide said the city is acting early this year, noting, “Based on past experience where pre-monsoon showers and heatwaves occurred earlier than expected, we are ensuring preparedness in advance.”
Source: Hindustan Times
