The nation’s commercial capital was brought to a halt last Friday by 283 mm of rain in 24 hours, the highest in a decade, despite the Shiv Sena-run Mumbai civic body (whose budget exceeds that of some small states) assuring citizens they were fully prepared for the rains. Under fire from the citizenry after most of the metropolis and the rail tracks got flooded, they blamed it on the heavy rains coinciding with the high tide. The Sena boss had with great fanfare opened two new pumping stations (built for Rs 102 crore and Rs 116 crore respectively) just two days earlier, saying these would solve the city’s problems. These collapsed as one was blocked by stones and gravel!
Mumbai’s problems are much greater as governments are beholden to builders. They have built on all marshy areas, salt pans, mangroves and water bodies in the heart of the city. So there is no place for the water to flow. Rampant corruption in the civic body and in the BJP government, particularly in the disposal of garbage and in constructing roads, are the bane of Mumbai. But its citizens too cannot escape blame. The utter lack of civic sense some of them show in filling drains with plastic bottles, cups and rubbish is matched only by the BMC’s lack of political will to punish the offenders. There is little hope for things getting better, despite all the watchdogs, unless Mumbai’s citizens too decide to change.
