MUMBAI, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- India's Mumbai may initiate water grid to overcome the recurring crisis of floods being faced by India's financial capital, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday.
"We have experienced that every year Mumbai suffers huge losses due to the floods. Hence, there is an urgent need to prepare an integrated plan to handle flood situation effectively to avoid losses," the minister said in a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Uddhav Thackeray.
In his letter, the minister called upon the Maharashtra government, which has Mumbai as its political capital, to get a detailed project report prepared by an international consultant coordinated by the city's planning body.
India's financial capital Mumbai, built on what was once an archipelago of seven islands and now a narrow peninsula after several decades of land reclamation, has been facing flooding due to lope-sided urbanization with inadequate drainage systems.
The city receives an average rainfall of 99 inches that leads to water logging on roads during the monsoon season that spreads from June to October.
If the grid is systematically planned, flood water, drainage and sewerage can be diverted towards adjoining district and the entire diverted influx can be treated and stored in a dam for usage in irrigation, industries and for supplying water to nearby horticulture belts, the minister said. Enditem
