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After a heavy spell of rain caught the island city off-guard and caused severe water logging in various parts of the city, politicians and activists have slammed the municipal corporation and the state government for the city’s condition. Politicians including members of parliament and social activists have alleged corruption in sewage cleaning work and have called out the government's inefficiency to ensure smooth flow of rainwater.
Mumbai saw heavy downpour on Monday morning as the city recorded around 300 mm of rainfall within six hours. The heavy rain caused major disruptions including water logging in Sion, Kurla, Chunabhatti, Byculla and Andheri while severe traffic congestion was recorded on Eastern Express Highway, Ghatkopar-Andheri Link road and Santacruz. Water logging in the low lying areas also disrupted suburban train services whereas around 60 outbound flights were cancelled and more than 36 inbound flights were diverted from the Mumbai airport.
As the heavy rain brought monsoon mayhem in Mumbai, politicians and social activists took upon the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the Maharashtra government for their claims of pre-monsoon preparations. Mumbai North-Central MP Varsha Gaikwad alleged that Mumbai collapsed in the first rain due to corruption in nullah cleaning and pre-monsoon work. She also slammed the railway authorities for failing to provide service to Mumbaikars during the rain.
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Gaikwad said, “The Mahayuti government is a liar and massive corruption and laxity in drain cleaning and pre-monsoon works have caused immense suffering to Mumbaikars. Due to lack of proper coordination between the railway administration and the state government, the railway tracks have turned into canals. The Bombay High Court also pulled the trigger last week against the management of local trains, but the railway management has the skin of a rhinoceros, they have no remorse for the hardships being caused to Mumbaikars.”
Social activists also highlighted flooding in multiple areas of the city and attributed it to the cosmetic cleaning of nullahs. The Watchdog Foundation wrote to the chief minister expressing dissatisfaction with the claim of having kept the metropolis rain ready. The activists have also demanded sacking of officials who failed to ensure proper preparedness and response to the monsoon rains as well as demanded compensation for people who suffered damages due to flooding and collapse of walls and trees.
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Godfrey Pimenta, trustee of Watchdog Foundation, said, “Despite the Chief Minister's direct oversight of the Nullah cleaning process and MLA Ashish Shelar's visits to various cleaning sites, the measures taken were evidently inadequate. The administration's failure to effectively prepare for the monsoon season is unacceptable and has caused undue hardship to the residents of our city.”
The activists also called for a complete overhaul of the BMC Administration citing declining standards of civic governance and added that a comprehensive reform is necessary to restore efficiency and accountability.
Social activist Zoru Bathena accused the BMC of worsening the drainage system of the city by highlighting that the waterlogging on Monday happened during low tide. “At night, the height of tide was normal 3.6m and in the morning it went as low as 0.7m. We know that the city floods every year due to high tide but for the first time in my life I saw Mumbai flooding during low tide. BMC says that it is improving the drainage system but it is doing the exact opposite of what is required. The fact that the rainwater should have flowed out by morning but didn’t is proof that there is something fundamentally wrong with BMC’s work,” he said.
