Mumbai: MMRDA begins work to make Kandivli landslide-free

Workers clear the road following a landslide on WEH at Kandivli, on August 8, 2020. Pics/Satej Shinde

Five months after a landslide blocked a part of the Western Express Highway in Kandivli, the MMRDA has planned to carry out mitigation and prevention work.

Following heavy overnight rain, mud and rocks flooded the road on August 4 last year. A small portion of the road still remains shut, causing traffic jams during peak hours.

An official from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) told mid-day on Monday, "In order to prevent further incidents of landslides, we have invited tenders for stabilisation and mitigation work in the area near the Times of India building on the Western Express Highway near Bandongari Hill, Kandivli."

The official added that whoever gets the contract will have to do the work of removing the loose boulders and take certain measures that will prevent the rocks from falling on the road again.

The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay had visited the site following the landslide and submitted a technical report with recommendations. Based on these suggestions, further work for the removal of loose boulders and soil will be carried out, the official said.

"As per the report submitted by IIT-Bombay after removing the loose boulders, a retaining wall of Reinforced Cement Concrete will be constructed till the half portion of the rocky patch, and steel nets would be installed above it to prevent landslide," the official said.

R A Rajeev, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA, said, "The work is being done as per the advice of IIT-Bombay. This will not only help in the conservation of the affected area, but will also prevent further landslides."

The highway is an arterial road that connects Dahisar in Western Suburbs to Bandra, and motorists from Mira Road, Thane, Ghodbunder Road, Ahmedabad, etc, use it daily to reach Bandra and South Mumbai.