The Central Railway (CR) has the same story to tell as 42 lakh daily commuters suffer due to the water logging on the tracks, causing trains to stop. However, the CR plans to install high powered pumps this year in order to remove the stagnated water on the tracks. A total of 290 pumps will be installed along the tracks of both CR and WR.
In the CR, 160 pumps will be installed including the few high powered ones. The high powered pumps will have the capacity to remove 1000 cubic meters of water. These pumps will be placed in areas which faces the maximum problem of water logging — Sion, Kurla, Wadala etc.
There have been a series of meetings where several issues were discussed. The issues include placing of pumps at vulnerable locations, removal of muck, cleaning culverts and drains, trimming trees, scanning boulders, dumping of garbage etc.
"A total of 25 locations were identified which required immediate attention," said a Central Railway official.
The preparatory work for monsoon started from February. Until now, 79 culverts have been cleaned. Work on an additional opening at Tilak Nagar to ease flooding on the rail tracks in Sion-Kurla has been completed. They are also working on widening the nullahs at Wadala, Chunabhatti, Mankhurd, Govandi on the Harbour line and Bhandup, Mulund, Matunga, Thane apart from Sion and Kurla on the main line.
Subhash Gupta, president of the Rail Yatri Sangh said, "The nullah and culverts are looking free of muck. However, due to work going on for the construction of a road overbridge near Kurla, debris are dumped close to the pathway of Mithi river. This could pose a risk of water logging on the rail tracks".
The CR authorities are also cleaning the nullahs and culverts which lead to the Mithi River. Sources have said that they need to clean 1.60 lakh cubic meters of muck and silt, of which around 90,000 cubic metres have been cleaned. They are running two trains for the purpose. Each train has 5 wagons with a capacity of 20 cubic meter per wagon to carry the muck. In a day around 250 sacks of garbage is collected and taken to the dumping ground.
Sunil Udasi of Chief PRO of Central Railway said, "The chances of water logging is less this monsoon."
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