Mumbai: With the monsoon around the corner and only two days left before the May 31 deadline, Western Railway (WR) is working round the clock to complete crucial drainage and flood-mitigation projects across its suburban network. The railway has already removed nearly 24,000 tonnes of garbage and silt from drains, culverts and railway premises since the end of last monsoon and aims to finish the remaining works over the weekend.Monsoon countdown: WR clears 24k tonnes of muck, races to finish drainage worksWR officials said the suburban section had planned repairs of 2 km of old drains and construction of 3 km of new drainage lines this year. Similar works covering 6 km have already been completed, while projects in Kandivali, Borivali, Bandra, Mahim, Matunga Road and Dahisar are nearing completion.“We are on the verge of finishing 100% of the work of repairing old drainage lines and constructing new ones which are pending. Apart from this we are carrying out micro tunneling as well for wider 1200 mm culverts running underneath the rail lines. Also, we have completed 480 plus trips of muck cleaning special trains in the past few months,” said a WR official.According to railway officials, about 24,000 tonnes of waste have been cleared through the special cleaning drive. The muck-special trains, consisting of four to six coaches, transport waste collected from drainage channels, culverts and railway land to designated disposal sites outside the city.Apart from drainage upgrades, WR is completing micro-tunnelling works between Kandivali and Dahisar and in the Vasai section. The railway has also intensified desilting operations, culvert cleaning and installation of flood-monitoring systems at vulnerable locations.“The emphasis has been on strengthening drainage systems, improving water discharge capacity and deploying modern monitoring technology so that train operations remain safe and punctual during the monsoon. We will finish the balance works over the weekend,” said a WR official.Around 58 culverts and waterways beneath railway bridges have been cleaned, with 90% of the work already completed. More than 50 km of drains have been desilted out of the nearly 60 km identified under the annual pre-monsoon programme.To minimise waterlogging, WR had installed 126 dewatering pumps, which is about 15% more than the last year. The railway has also set up 40 flood gauges and six automated rain gauges to monitor rainfall intensity and rising water levels in real time.Officials said they are using drone cameras, floater cameras, suction machines and de-sludging equipment to inspect and clean deep drainage sections.Matunga Road and Vasai Road stations, which witnessed waterlogging complaints in previous years, have received special attention. Works including track raising, drainage strengthening and installation of additional high-capacity pumps have been completed. Railway sources said tracks at four vulnerable locations are being raised by 50 mm to 150 mm to prevent flooding during heavy rainfall and high tides.