DNA RAIN CHECK: Pitted roads cause snarls, but widened drains ease flooding in Mumbai

A little over a month into the monsoon and civic cynicism for arterial roads has been proven correct. The stretch between Bandra and Dahisar on Western Express Highway, as well as parts of Link Road are not just getting rugged but also gaping open at spots where utilities are laid.

Stretches on Link Road in DN Nagar, Andheri, Vile Parle, Goregaon and Malad are cratered, especially after the Monday-Tuesday showers, despite the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is executing the Metro rail projects, promising to even up the roads.

DNA travelled between Kandivali and Andheri on Link Road on Thursday and found more than five spots where ditches are forcing vehicles to crawl and endangering two-wheelers, adding to the peril of slippery roads.

The WEH is also riddled with uneven patches as it runs through Borivali, Malad, Jogeshwari, Andheri, and near the airport. The Public Works Department (PWD) maintains the highway between Bandra and Andheri, while MMRDA is in charge from Andheri to Dahisar. Since Metro corridor is being laid out on Link Road, MMRDA looks after this as well.

Citizens' chief complaint is that both the agencies are filling potholes using paver blocks, which are used for constructing service roads and not major arterial roads. Dahisar resident Ankit Arora said, "According to the rules of the Indian Road Congress, no paver blocks can be used to fill up potholes on highways. But authorities are using them here, on a highway that connects Mumbai with Gujarat."

Officials from both PWD and MMRDA said paver blocks are being used merely as a temporary solution, and "once we get dry spells, the potholes will be layered with tar using cold mix technology."

Residents said that this year SV Road in Khar was also majorly waterlogged, indicating that the drains were not cleaned thoroughly.

Khar still scarred

The western suburbs' two prominent flooding spots tell two different stories this monsoon. On the one hand, the BMC's promises that Jay Bharat residential complex in Khar (West) won't get as flooded went down the drain, on the other, last-minute widening of drains at Vakola brought a wave of relief for residents, for a change.

In the Rain Check report published in DNA on May 18, residents from both Vakola as well as Jay Bharat Society had raised concerns over getting trapped in their societies during heavy showers.

"We were told that this time water will recede quickly as work had been initiated to widen the culvert, but in the end, we faced the same situation as every year. Our entire area was waterlogged for long hours," said Rahul Pai, secretary, Jay Bharat Society, which houses around 400 families in 65 buildings.

Rajeev Raghani, a society resident and secretary of Paradise building, said it seemed like the residents were under house arrest, with knee-deep water keeping schoolchildren and office goers at home. "As soon as it started raining heavily, most residents moved their vehicles and parked them elsewhere. Last year, eight to nine cars were damaged in the flooding," he said. He added that many residents have rented out their flats and moved elsewhere because they are sick of facing flooding year after year.

Civic officials said the low-lying locality gathers all the rainwater from Pali Hill, which is at an elevation. "The drains supposed to divert the water to Chamdawadi nullah, and then into the Mithi River through railway culverts, were not wide enough. The work has been taken up. There was waterlogging but the situation was much better than before. We are sure once the work is complete, there will be total relief," said a BMC official, not wanting to be named.

Vakola's widened drains lap up water

Residents from several localities along the Vakola nullah were earlier not sure if the drain widening would draw off more rainwater from the streets. The work was initiated in the first week of May. But last week was the litmus test. In spite of heavy showers, the area did not suffer its usual monsoon woes.

Right from Swagat Hotel near the WEH junction, till Anand Nagar and onward to R Patuck Road, localities on either side of the nullah are known to get waterlogged. But the BMC laid a totally new drainage system. The 4x4 ft drains starting from near Anand Nagar to Vakola nullah, which cost around Rs 1.40 crore, ensured that the water ran off quickly, without accumulating.

HOLE-SOME COMMUTE

• Stretches on Link Road in DN Nagar, Andheri, Vile Parle, Goregaon, Malad are full of craters. 
   
• WEH riddled with potholes at Borivali, Malad, Jogeshwari, Andheri, near airport.