Maha Minister directs officials to deliver results on monsoon preparedness

Mumbai, May 31 (IANS) Mumbai Suburban District Guardian Minister Ashish Shelar on Saturday asked Railways, BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Disaster Management Teams and the police to avoid the blame game and ensure immediate and coordinated completion of all pre-monsoon works.

He made it clear that no form of blame game will be tolerated as the focus must be on timely, coordinated action to ensure uninterrupted railway services and public safety during the monsoon.

He boarded a local train from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus to Bhandup and personally stepped down onto the Central Railway tracks at several points to review the status of drain cleaning and pumping infrastructure.

He gave those directives to ensure that Mumbaikars do not face inconvenience during the upcoming monsoon.

Minister Shelar chaired a joint high-level coordination meeting at the Western Railway headquarters at Churchgate. The meeting was attended by senior officials from both Central and Western Railways, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Mumbai Police, Railway Police, MHADA, SRA, and other key departments. He took stock of the drain-cleaning and monsoon preparedness measures carried out across the railway limits.

After the meeting, Shelar travelled by a suburban local train and conducted site visits at Masjid, Sandhurst Road, and Byculla, descending onto the tracks to check drain cleaning.

He also inspected pumping systems installed at Sion station and other key points like Kurla, Vikhroli, Bhandup, and Kanjurmarg.

Minister Shelar said that out of the 812 culverts on the Central Railway, cleaning has been completed for 750. The remaining culverts must be cleared at the earliest.

Of the 637 dangerous trees along the railway lines, trimming has been carried out for 550 trees; the remaining branches must be pruned without delay.

Last year, Central Railway installed 96 pumps at flood-prone locations. This year, the number has increased to 177.

Shelar directed that the timely testing of all these pumps be ensured.

“The Railway administration has installed flood monitoring systems at around 36 locations, five of which are automatic digital sensors and 12 are manual gauges. Coordination of these systems with BMC’s Disaster Management Department is essential. While the Railways monitor rainfall and water accumulation on tracks, the BMC handles pumping and drainage through stormwater lines and nullahs. Therefore, senior officials from both departments have been instructed to ensure seamless coordination,” he said.

Minister Shelar said that BMC has declared 24 buildings in the Masjid-Sandhurst Road railway jurisdiction as dangerous, adding that he will apprise the Chief Minister and Railway Minister of the situation and request them to initiate appropriate action and to issue directives to senior officials.

He also issued instructions to ensure coordination between administrative agencies handling stormwater drains outside Marine Lines and railway areas, particularly those involved in the Coastal Road project.

“In case of train delays due to heavy rainfall at railway stations, leading to overcrowding and chaos among commuters, local railway police should work in coordination with the BMC’s Disaster Management Department. Given that a train delay of even three minutes can cause crowd build-up, a disaster response plan should be put in place. This plan should also incorporate BEST buses for emergency transportation support. Central and Western Railway stations must implement this contingency measure,” he said.

--IANS

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