Mumbai Buzz: ‘Smart’ manhole covers | Metro line-3 first phase expected this year… and more

In this week’s Mumbai news recap: BMC to carry out large scale road works; The civic body offends Catholic community; Large crowds visit Byculla Zoo.

BMC to spend Rs 6,080 crore to concrete 400-km of roads, allots contracts to large firms

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be spending Rs 6,080 crores to concrete 400 km of Mumbai’s roads. The civic body has selected five large construction firms with a track record in building national highways to carry out the job, effectively eliminating small road contractors in order to fulfil the largest-ever civic contract.

The road contractors will be responsible to maintain the roads for a period of ten years. Three contracts amounting to Rs 4,000 crore have been allotted to western suburbs. The contract worth Rs 846 crore has been allotted to the eastern suburbs and the island city has been allotted contract worth Rs 1,234 crore.

Source: Times of India


Read more: BMC will cement roads to avoid potholes. Is it a good strategy?


Roman Catholics offended by BMC’s notice seeking century-old burial land in Bandra

Thousands of Roman Catholics in Mumbai were angered by the BMC’s recent notice to the century-old St. Peter’s Seaside Cemetery in Bandra, in which the civic body has requested a piece of land for road widening. The community has now made the decision to sign a petition asking the BMC to withdraw its decision.

The catholic community also pointed out that as a part of its development plan, BMC was supposed to provide land for burials and cremations and not take away the existing ones. The Bombay Catholic Sabha has now called for an urgent meeting of community members at Loyola Hall, St Peter’s Church in Bandra.

Source: Mid-Day

First phase of Metro line-3 to be rolled out this year

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) plans to open the first phase of the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro-3 Corridor in 2023, from Aarey to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).

Group of protestors holding a banner that reads, No Metro III Yard. There are better alternatives
Some of the construction work for Mumbai metro line-3 has been a subject of controversy after it faced backlash from environmentalists and political parties. Pic: Aarey Conservaion Group

The MMRC has received all the eight coaches of the second train, which will be assembled and put to trial soon. The first train has already undergone all dynamic and static tests through the trial runs of more than 1,500 km. The second eight-coach train, manufactured in Andhra Pradesh, arrived in Mumbai on December 29th. It will be undergoing the required tests in a 5-km stretch on the ramp between Sariput Nagar and Sahar.

Source: Hindustan Times


Read more: MMRDA chief SVR Srinivas: “Mumbaikars can look forward to good, comfortable and safe journeys with the metro.”


BMC to soon install a ‘smart’ manhole monitoring system

To prevent untoward incidents caused by open manholes, the BMC will be installing a “smart” monitoring system that will sound an alarm in the event of unauthorised manhole openings, missing or stolen covers, or overflow detection.

In addition, the system will send alerts to the BMC sewer control room. The pilot project at 14 locations will be implemented by March at an estimated cost of Rs 18 lakh. There are about 74,000 manholes maintained by BMC’s sewerage department. The internet integrated monitoring system will also include features for reporting complaints on drainage overflow and open manholes.

The move come after the Bombay high court had recently warned the civic officials that they would be held responsible if anyone fell into an open manhole. The court had also earlier directed the BMC to cover all manholes.

Source: Times of India


Read more: 40% of Mumbai’s water lost: How can water leaks be fixed?


Start of the year brought more visitors to Mumbai’s Byculla Zoo

Elephant in water at Byculla Zoo.
Elephants cooling themselves in a pond in the Byculla zoo. Pic: Elroy Serrao, Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

A staggering 32,820 people visited the Veer Jijabai Bhosle Vanaspati Udyan Va Praani Sanghralay, commonly known as the Byculla Zoo, on January 1st, bringing in a Rs 13.78 lakh. This resulted in the zoo breaking its previous record of 31,8141 visitors on November 6th last year.

In total, 27,262 people visited the zoo and purchased a physical ticket. It generated a total of Rs 9.60 lakh in revenue. On the other hand, 5,558 visitors purchased online tickets, generating Rs 4.18 lakh in revenue. With new renovations and new bird and animal species, along with a penguin exhibition, the zoo has become an attraction for visitors from Mumbai as well as tourists.

Source: Hindustan Times

[Complied by Eshan Kalyanikar]

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