July 26, 2005 is not a day most Mumbaikars will forget. Nearly 100 cm of rainfall over a 24-hour period had flooded the nation’s commercial Capital, claiming lives and destroying property, and bringing its transport system to a halt. A little over a decade since, have any lessons been learnt?

The Mithi river, which overflowed during the 2005 rains, is a crucial storm-water drain for the city. The water body lies choked with filth and is now nothing more than an open drain. The city’s Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, however, claims most of the desilting work on the river has been carried out.

A number of drains open into the river and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai is thinking of setting up sewage treatment plants (STPs) on its banks. A site for the STP, however, is a challenge as the banks are encroached upon by slums.

In late 2015, the civic body began preparations for the South-West monsoon by cleaning nearly 700 km of big and small channels that carry rain water. The civic body had high capacity pump houses and ensured better coordination between various departments. This year, its staff were present in flood-prone areas and relayed real-time information to the pumping stations. The tide and sea levels were also monitored to ensure there was no back flow of sea water into the drains, Mehta said.

Former World Bank Transportation Planner Arun Mokashi says Mumbai’s drainage system is over 100 years old and has never been overhauled; only some sections have been replaced in a piecemeal manner. He advocated a comprehensive study of the drainage and sewage systems study of the city. Mokashi also suggests creating a fund on the lines of the Swachh Bharat fund, to regularly carry out works.

As regards flooding of the suburban railways tracks, Mokashi said even in 2001-02, when the Mumbai Urban Transport Project was being planned, the World Bank had mooted a ₹2,000 crore plan to raise the level of the tracks, a project that did not find many takers..

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