Mumbai: warnings not heeded

The country’s largest city and financial capital Mumbai was paralysed on Tuesday by heavy rains and water-logging. Normal life in the city was completely thrown out of gear. Transport facilities by road, rail and air broke down, power supply failed and communications were badly disrupted. It was a throwback to the 2005 deluge when the city collapsed under one of the heaviest rainfalls in its history. Although the rainfall on Tuesday was only a tenth of the 950 mm rainfall the city suffered in 2005, the disruption was of the same level. A good number of people who went to offices and other workplaces had to stay put, schools and colleges were closed and nothing much moved except water in what’s otherwise India’s most happening city. The total loss of lives and property is yet to be estimated but the damage is evidently substantial. The situation continued to be dire on Wednesday too.

Heavier-than-usual and unseasonal rains and other odd natural events are becoming the norm and we need to be prepared to face them. The political authorities and the civic officials in Mumbai and Maharashtra have obviously failed to deal with the city’s flooding problem. Most of the proposals and recommendations made after the 2005 experience for repair and building of infrastructure that would withstand the rain fury and prevent inundation of crowded areas were not acted upon. Some of the budget provisions for this were actually allowed to lapse. Some work that was done was shoddy. Even after forecasts were made of excessive rainfall, effective steps were not taken to mitigate the situation. Blocked drains and inadequate outlets for discharge of water ensured that most areas were flooded. Vulnerable and crowded places like slums were the most affected. Serious public health problems might ensue now after the water recedes.

The situation is not specific to Mumbai, of course. If it was Mumbai that drowned this year, it was the turn of Gurugram last year, and of Chennai the year before. Bengaluru also saw unusual downpour and flooding earlier this month. In the first place, civic authorities in almost every major Indian city have ignored the basic principles of urban planning and environment. As cities expanded, natural waterbodies, wetlands and mangroves that acted as a sponge disappeared; when the old storm water drains fell into disuse or were encroached, there was nothing to drain away the water; when the natural flow of water is obstructed, flooding crises become the norm every monsoon. In city after city, municipal administrations and state governments have been found wanting, and emergency response systems unable to cope with the challenges. Mumbai has just provided some more lessons to learn for the future. Will we?