COVID-19 impact: BMC starts work on getting Mumbai monsoon-ready

BMC worker cleaning the drains before monsoon approaches at S V road in Kandivli. Pic/nimesh dave

While managing the COVID-19 crisis in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has begun its mandatory duty of prepping for the monsoon which is just two months away.

Accordingly, the BMC authorities identified 137 priority works of various departments such as roads, stormwater drains, bridges and waterworks and has begun work on them. Another 500 works have also been proposed, which they will complete soon to avoid any major issue during the monsoon.

However, given the Coronavirus threat, the BMC officials are following protocols and all safety measures by screening employees, ensuring social distancing and providing everyone with gloves and masks.

Also, with a majority of BMC labourers returning home, the administration has asked developers to lend their workers looking for jobs. So the civic body has sourced such workers and is trying to provide them with work since April 1, sources said.

"Many roads, SWD and waterworks were incomplete and roads were excavated for repair and reconstruction. So it is important that they are repaired immediately," a civic official said.

"Whenever the city gets waterlogged or the roads become bad in monsoon, locals blame the administration for poor management. But now even with limited resources, the work is being carried out," a civic official requesting anonymity said.

"We not only had to source the labour class but also the raw material for carrying out work as a lot of private firms supplying the materials are non-operational. For this, we established communication with the collectors of MMRs to allow trucks to bring in materials so that work could start immediately," said a civic official.

"With zero vehicular traffic on the road, the work is being done at a faster pace. Where earlier one patch took a night to be complete, it is now being done just in few hours," said a senior civic official.

Also, 500 other works fall in the 'Priority 2' list which includes completion of SWD works, bridges and roads among others. These works will be taken up after approvals from the municipal commissioner and also after assuring the state government that all the precautionary measures are being taken.

137
No. of jobs BMC has put on priority

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