Mumbai: As part of its pre-monsoon preparedness, the BMC has appointed 23 contractors to execute desilting operations across both the city and suburbs. The BMC has set a target of removing 9.34 lakh metric tonnes of silt from city nullahs and the Mithi River.
The civic body has allocated a budget of Rs 540 crore to be spent over two years. Although the BMC continues to face a major challenge, despite cleaning the nullahs, people are still dumping garbage into them, undermining efforts to keep the city’s drainage system clear, civic officials complain.
However, Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani has appealed to citizens to avoid throwing garbage into drains and to help prevent blockages, ensuring the smooth and uninterrupted flow of water during the monsoon.
Gagrani inspected desilting work in the city and suburbs along with the civic officials on Tuesday. So far, 43% of the pre-monsoon desilting work has been completed. The BMC aims to complete the remaining work within the next month, by May 31. To ensure transparency in the desilting process, all video footage related to the operations is being analysed by the BMC using Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. Citizens living along the drains should refrain from dumping solid waste into the drains.
