BMC puts Charni Road pumping station on hold

The construction of a pumping station at Charni Road was in the pipeline in a bid to improve the city's waterlogging situation. However, cost and logistical difficulties may now force the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to put the project on hold. A senior BMC official said that its construction cost is likely to be Rs 300 to 325 crore due to micro-tunnelling for conveyance.

The revised Brihanmumbai Storm Water Disposal System (BRIMSTOWAD) project of 2005, suggested a mini pumping station to be built at Charni Road. The aim was to ease waterlogging on Sardar Vallabh Patel Road, including areas like Khetwadi, Gol Deool, Alankar Cinema and Maulana Azad Road among other areas which face waterlogging during heavy rainfall. The pumping station was proposed on a civic plot outside the Charni Road railway station near Taraporwala Aquarium.

A civic official added, "The proposal requires four pumps with six cubic meter water capacity. For laying stormwater pipes we need micro-tunnelling, right from P D'mello Road up to Girgaum Chowpatty. The rainwater has to reach Chowpatty through gravity conveyance. Due to micro-tunnelling, the cost for a local pumping station goes up to Rs 300 to 325 crore, which is expensive."

Although the master plan of BRIMSTOWAD includes the Charni Road pumping station, the project is still on paper and the department is yet to ascertain the feasibility of the project. "We will first concentrate on completing the construction of Mahul and Mogra pumping stations which are halted due to land acquisition," an officer said.

Even 12 years after the BRIMSTOWAD project began, the civic body has failed to acquire land in Mahul and Mogra for constructing pumping stations.

THE PLAN ON PAPER

• The pumping station was suggested by the BRIMSTOWAD project of 2005
   
• Its aim was to ease waterlogging in several areas around Charni Road