BMC has completed 70 per cent of digging work on a holding tank near chronic flood spot, will finish work on it during the monsoon
Digging work continues on the holding tank near Milan subway in Santacruz. Pic/Sameer Markande
Though the BMC had aimed to fully finish the digging work of the holding tank near Milan subway to store water before the monsoon, around 70 per cent of the work has been completed. However, the pond can now at least hold floodwater as the piling work has been completed. The rest of the digging will be done as per the rainy season and will take over a month.
After a pilot project at Hindmata last year, this year the corporation increased the capacity of the tanks in the area and started work on another holding tank at Milan Subway, one of the most chronic flooding spots in the western suburbs. The subway, which connects east and west of the railway track between Vile Parle and Santacruz, is below sea level and gets flooded each year when heavy showers coincide with the high tide. Though the BMC already tried a few ideas, including removing the water with high power pumps, it failed to acquire the desired results. Now, with the large holding tank that has the capacity to hold around two crore litres of water, the BMC is sure that it will solve the issue of flooding. The huge excavated pit will hold floodwater for a few hours of high tide.
“As the rains will start anytime, the work will need another month to be completed depending on the showers. But even now, the pond can be used to store water and it will ease the flooding problem in some manner,” said an official from the Storm Water Drain department.
