For all the smart development that Thane has seen in its civic infrastructure and facilities in the last three years — cluster development, usage of solar energy, citizen connect — it hasn’t dealt with the basic problem of flooding. One lashing downpour is enough to box the some of the city’s central areas in a gridlock.
DNA audited some of these populous spots along with Thanekars and the picture that emerged is one devoid of hopes of a flood-free monsoon.
Take Chikhalwadi, a slum area in Thane East, as a case in point. It is named after the muck (chikhal) that gathers here during monsoon. A heavy shower is enough to submerge the shantytown of 2,000 people, and the three stables nearby. Its close proximity to the Eastern Express Highway and the Kopri bridge, from where rainwater falls down, turns it into a pond where water stagnates for hours during heavy showers. “We call it the Gateway of Thane as the entire city’s rainwater gathers here,” said Jayprakash Yadav, a resident of Chikhalwadi.
Whenever it pours relentlessly, the residents have no option but to leave their homes and take shelter on the highway. “There is no point in stocking up food as our homes get submerged,” said Khushbu Mishra, a resident. “We just gather our family members and take refuge on the road, leaving our belongings behind.” The residents have to wait, without food and basic facilities, for the water to subside, so they can return home.
Last year, when it rained heavily, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) used boats to rescue the residents as the area was flooded. “This year they might have to use a helicopter,” said Ratnesh Mishra sarcastically.
The residents say they have been putting up with the life-threatening flooding every monsoon for the past eight to nine years. What makes matters worse is a nearby nullah which joins a bigger one opposite the road next to Dnyansadhana College. It is brimming with garbage. “If they clean the nullah next to the college, things might get better. Till now nobody from the TMC has come to clean it up,” says Yadav.
Bharatiya Janata Party corporator Pratibha Madhvi of ward number 21, who was at the forefront of the rescue operations at Chikhalwadi last monsoon, agrees. “Ideally the nullah clean-up should be done two months before monsoon but TMC starts 15 days before the season,” said Madhvi. “We have asked the authority to take up the work on a war footing. We have learned they started cleaning the nullah in the slum three days back,” he said.
BOAT RESCUE
- Chikhalwadi, a slum in Thane East, is named after the muck (chikhal) that gathers here during monsoon.
- Last year during monsoon, TMC had to use boats to rescue people stranded in their homes as the locality was submerged.
RESIDENT SPEAK
They have built small holes on the sides of roads that have no incline, for rainwater to creep up to the drains. They expect rain to find these holes and spill itself into underground drains.
—Dwijendra Kane; Engineer, Karve Road resident
The storm water drains under the road are choked and have not been cleaneds. In case of a heavy downpour, the rainwater will not enter into the drains, causing waterlogging in the area.
—Rohit Joshi; Activist from Thane
CORPORATOR SPEAK
Ideally, the nullah clean-up should be done two months before monsoon, but TMC starts 15 days before the season. We have asked the authority to take it up on a war footing. We learned they started it three days back.
— Pratibha Madhvi, BJP corporator
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