100 bicycles for BMC’s foot soldiers

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is buying 100 bicycles. Not as a thoughtful giveaway for its staff, but to help the men patrolling the 100-km water pipeline from Tansa move faster.The idea, says the civic body, is to keep an eye on the parts along the Eastern Express Highway where the arterial pipeline is heavily encroached and is vulnerable to pilferers.Rahul Shewale, chairman, Standing Committee, said, “Water is our biggest concern this year and will remain so in the years to come. Incidence of breaking into the main pipelines by slum dwellers is the biggest worry for the civic body.

As we are planning to get rid of all the encroachments along the pipelines, better vigilance is the need of the hour. I have thus asked the security personnel guarding our pipelines to purchase bicycles. This will help them move around faster. After all, the pipeline is more than 100-km long from the Tansa Lake.”