The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is exploring the construction of holding ponds and the diversion of drains as part of monsoon preparedness measures for the Andheri subway, a location notorious for chronic flooding. However, civic officials have acknowledged that these interventions may still not completely prevent inundation.
High Costs and Maintenance Concerns
A collective cost estimate of nearly Rs 500 crore, coupled with a significant maintenance burden—holding ponds require continuous dewatering—is giving the administration pause. The subway frequently shuts down on days of heavy rainfall.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar noted that the topography of the area poses a major challenge in tackling flooding, prompting the BMC to explore multiple engineering interventions.
Proposed Holding Ponds
At a meeting on Tuesday with Andheri West MLA Ameet Satam, the BMC announced plans to develop holding ponds as part of a broader strategy. Similar ponds have been built to address flooding at Hindmata in Dadar and the Milan subway in Santacruz.
Civic officials have identified three sites for the proposed ponds:
- A 1,200-square-meter plot at Dr. Ambedkar Garden in Andheri
- A 1,000-square-meter triangular parcel in Jogeshwari
- A 2,000-square-meter plot along the Western Express Highway
Bangar stated that these three ponds would be capable of storing nearly 41,000 cubic meters of water. The BMC is also considering the diversion of drains and is scouting for larger plots.
MLA's Concerns and Alternative Suggestion
Satam echoed concerns that holding ponds alone would not fully resolve the flooding issue at the subway. He was informed that even with the ponds and a one-kilometer drain from the Andheri subway to the Bhardawadi nullah, the problem would not be 100% solved.
Satam suggested diverting a stream flowing from Jogeshwari, which currently enters the Andheri subway, into a nullah in Andheri East itself. He described this as a more cost-effective solution that could potentially avoid the multi-crore expenditure on constructing holding ponds.
Another meeting with the civic team is scheduled a month later to finalize the most feasible option.
