19 May,2023 07:12 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
CM Eknath Shinde. File Pic
Ahead of the monsoon season in Mumbai, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday inspected pre-monsoon desilting works in the city, during which he entered a nullah (major drain) in Oshiwara and issued a show-cause notice to a senior civic official for one nullah in Santacruz being unclean, the PTI reported.
CM Shinde also visited the under-construction Gokhale Bridge over the railway tracks in Andheri and asked officials to ensure it is thrown open for public use by Diwali this year, according to the PTI.
While inspecting desilting works, CM Eknath Shinde issued a show-cause notice to Vibhas Achrekar, chief engineer of the storm water drain department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) after finding a nullah at Milan Subway in Santacruz unclean, the PTI reported.
At Oshiwara, CM Shinde entered a nullah to inspect the pre-monsoon cleaning works, while at Poisar river in the northern part of the metropolis, he asked civic officials to ensure the waterbody is completely desilted.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress working president Naseem Khan, who visited sites along the Mithi river earlier this week, claimed the waterbody had not been desilted for the past 15 days and alleged that a scam was underway in the name of such works.
At many places, just one-foot of silt has been removed from the six-foot deep nullah, Khan alleged, adding there was a nexus between civic authorities and contractors.
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Meanwhile, the BMC has been gearing up to tackle the waterlogging and flooding situations during the rains in the city.
The city civic body had on Tuesday said that the citizens of Mumbai will receive periodic messages on weather updates. The BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal reviewed the preparations in the pre-monsoon-2023 review meeting held on Tuesday with different departments and directed that all the departments should be ready for the challenges such as monsoon flooding in the city.
In an official statement, the BMC had said that in the review meeting, Chahal said that due to environmental changes the effects are witnessed in every season, various departments in Mumbai should be prepared to overcome the challenge of flood situations during monsoon. If all the systems of Mumbai, including the BMC responsibly deal with the flooding situations and if all the systems in Mumbai contribute in a proper manner during the rainy season, the crisis that befalls in the city can be avoided with a concerted effort.
(with PTI inputs)
