The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Friday achieved its final breakthrough of excavating the 5.25-km water supply tunnel between Wadala and Parel.
The total length of the tunnel is 9.7 km and the breakthrough for the first phase of 4.3 km which extended between Hedgewar Garden and Pratiksha Nagar was achieved on August 2022 and it had began on October 2021.
A breakthrough of a tunnel refers to the final stage when the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), by cutting through the surface, achieves completion of digging the tunnel.
On Friday, during the presence of breakthrough, municipal commissioner and state appointed administrator, Bhushan Gagrani was present at the site.
Civic authorities said that, at present, 74% of the total water supply project have been completed and the entire project is expected to be operational from April 2026.
Civic officials said that upon completion several areas in south and central Mumbai including Matunga, Parel, Chembur, Kurla and Byculla will get improved water supply coupled with improved water pressure.
Civic authorities said that the tunnel is being excavated at a depth of 100 meters below the ground level and the diameter of the tunnel is around 3.2 meters.
“There were several challenges like groundwater depletion, fluctuating geological levels, and erosion in the tunnel, yet we have been able to complete the second phase of this excavation on time,” said the civic authorities on Friday.
“Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, the excavation of the project continued uninterrupted. And upon completion, Mumbai will become a megacity with total water tunnel length of above 100 km after New York,” civic officials maintained.
