Mumbai, May 31 -- The Central and Western Railways removed 280,000 cubic metres of silt and muck as part of pre-monsoon works that were due for completion by May 31. On the heels of the May 26 rains that inundated the city, the railways and MMRDA authorities said that they have undertaken various measures to tackle the monsoon. The Central Railway authorities have identified vulnerable spots such as Mukhyadhyapak nallah in Matunga-Sion, Godrej nallah in Vikhroli, Karve Nagar nallah in Kanjurmarg, Kurla, Thane, Badlapur-Vangani, Vasai, Virar, Bandra-Mahim. The engineers have augmented the drainage capacity by widening the drains using the micro-tunneling method and also constructed new drains wherever required. High-power pumps have been deployed in order to clean culverts. The Western Railway authorities have cleaned 58 culverts and 55.82 km of drains and thus removed 120,000 cubic metres of silt. "We have cleaned and removed 1.60 lakh cubic metres of muck, silt and debris from the drains and culverts on both main and harbour lines. We also undertook special flood mitigation measures between Badlapur and Vangani which saw heavy flooding in recent years," said a senior Central Railway official. The Central Railway authorities have cleaned 249 km of drains and 381 culverts over the past few weeks. 175 high-capacity pumps have been deployed, which is a 20% increase over last year. They have also lifted 100 kilometres of tracks in low areas. The Western Railway authorities have installed 104 high-capacity pumps at flood-prone locations. As a part of emergency preparedness, 191 Maharashtra Security Force jawans and 175 Railway Protection Force personnel will be part of quick response teams. A 15-member flood rescue team with rescue boats have been arranged. One Metro lines-2A and 7 on Gundavali-Dahisar-Andheri (W) route, the Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Limited (MMMOCL) installed wind velocity anemometers at 10 stations to monitor real-time weather conditions. Frequency of metro services is to be increased as and when required. The authorities have placed 30 dewatering pumps at different stations. "An emergency coach has been kept on standby for deployment to ensure rapid support and mobility of essential resources. A comprehensive waterproof testing was done in all 34 metro trains apart from cleaning of viaducts along 35 km that includes roof gutters, pipes, saucer drains, and sewer lines," said an official from MMMOCL....