Mumbai, February 27 The Maharashtra government said on Friday that it is working on a permanent solution to the recurring traffic congestion caused by waterlogging at the Andheri subway in western Mumbai during the monsoon.
Responding to a calling attention motion in the assembly, Minister of State Madhuri Misal said that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is undertaking multiple measures to address the issue.
MLA Murji Patel raised the issue, stating that the subway is the only link between Andheri East and Andheri West and frequently gets flooded during heavy rainfall, leading to severe traffic congestion.
Misal said that the subway is located in a low-lying area and the Western Railway's suburban network runs above it, making widening or deepening technically difficult.
She said that waterlogging occurs when rainfall exceeds 19 mm per hour.
To mitigate the situation, the BMC deploys three pumps with a combined drainage capacity of 2,250 cubic metres per hour during the monsoon.
She added that the renovated Gokhale Bridge has been opened for traffic and is used as an alternative route when the subway is closed. Traffic from SV Road is diverted to the bridge to prevent congestion in Andheri West.
The minister said that a Rs 197 crore project has been proposed to prevent flooding during heavy rainfall exceeding 55 mm and added that a joint meeting of all departments will be convened to work out a permanent solution.