Pre-monsoon works delay in Navi Mumbai, NMMC pushes the deadline for a week

There is barely a week left for the monsoons to arrive in the city. However, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has not yet completed the necessary pre-monsoon works. The Civic Chief held a meeting on Thursday and set another deadline to complete the work.

From a survey of dangerous buildings to trimming of trees, the necessary pre-monsoon works have not been completed.

Earlier, the civic administration had set May 25 as the deadline to complete the pre-monsoon works. Since most of the officials are busy handling the coronavirus pandemic, the monsoon related works got delayed.

Abbasaheb Misal, municipal commissioner of NMMC held a meeting on Thursday with other senior civic officials at civic headquarter and also connected with ward officials through video conferencing, and set May 31 as the new deadline for desilting of drainages. The entire nullah (watercourse) will be cleaned in a week and silt should be removed the very next day.

Although Navi Mumbai is a planned city, there are still few places that see water logging during the monsoon. Ward officials have been asked to ensure the installing of pumps at all important places before the monsoon arrives. “The repair of the flood gate is also at the last stage and it will be completed at the earliest,” stated a senior civic official.

All the ward officials have been asked to complete the survey of dangerous buildings urgently and take necessary steps like publishing the list and putting up a notice. They have also been directed to ensure timely tree trimming.

The civic body will confront multiple challenges from handling COVID-19 patients to vector-borne diseases after monsoon hits the city. The civic administration's former deadline of 25 May was missed due to ongoing war against the coronavirus.

However, the Civic Chief directed the health department to take precautionary measures given the forthcoming monsoon season while taking measures to curb the spread of COVID 19. The civic body will make keep some beds reserved in hospitals for vector-borne diseases.

Abbasaheb Misal, Municipal Commissioner of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) asked all the departments to prepare a plan keeping COVID-19 in mind. “Each department has been asked to prepare a standard operating procedure (SOP) and inform the Disaster Management with necessary contact numbers as soon as possible,” said a senior civic official.

Meanwhile, the civic administration will approve online repair and necessary construction works because of the lockdown due to coronavirus. The town planning department has also been directed to make necessary arrangements for processing.

The civic administration has already held a meeting with the police, traffic department, civic defense forces, APMC, MSEDCL, Thane-Belapur Industrial Associations, and Fisherman’s Associations. “We had detailed discussions with all these units for monsoon preparation,” added the official.