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BMC lagging behind in pre-monsoon work

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Most parts of India are witnessing severe heat wave conditions this year and the sweltering heat is keeping the people indoor during day time. Meteorological Department has issued good news that monsoon will hit Pune /Pune five days ahead to end the humid sultry days and nights will come to an end. Much awaited monsoon will arrive early and is likely to hit Andaman and Nicobar Islands by mid of this month. Present features indicate that conditions are becoming favourable for the advance of the South-west monsoon over the country and it will provide much needed relief as well. The good news about the weather forecast had a direct impact on Sensex. The boost in market sentiments came after news reports of early arrival of monsoon rains and normal rain forecast during this rainy season.

But Mumbai is not prepared for the monsoon season till now and BMC is lagging behind. The BMC should first form disaster management cell and it should work 24×7 to face any impending danger.  We are familiar with 26.7.2005 deluge and  all arrangements must be undertaken to face any calamity in the wake of heavy monsoon rains. Despite the civic body’s claim about monsoon readiness, citizens have to undergo troubles during heavy rains as some people get drowned into open drains and it is very difficult to recover the body. Emergency boat service should be pressed into service and both Army and Navy should be put on place to face an eventuality during the heavy torrential rains with high tide bringing in sea water into the nearby roads. It is a herculean task to restore normalcy in the city and we must keep ourselves fully equipped with rain readiness measures in operation.

Mumbai city should not face such a tricky situation and it is not ready to face monsoon rains for four months.  BMC claims about rain readiness exist only on paper and more spade work needs to be done. Road work is incomplete and like in the past many pot holes and craters are visible on the main road and it poses serious threat for road users. 26/7 tragedy still hovers around in our mind. We should be well prepared to face any calamity and approach the problem in the right way. The nature’s fury should be countered by proper disaster management readiness.

Mumbai need proper cleaning of drainage system before the onset of monsoon and the use of plastic should be prevented totally so that it will not choke the drainage system thereby causing flooding in city roads. Even highways, subways and flyovers should have clean roads devoid of water logging during heavy monsoon rains. Unless we take up remedial measures in time rain will cause hardships for Mumbaikars. The bottlenecks in the city include Lower Parel to Matunga stretch. The area has posh hotels but people are forced to wade through knee deep water every time during heavy rains. The low lying areas pose the more problems for citizens. Both the sides of the King Circle flyover in Matunga are danger spots.

If heavy water logging occurs in this area, then it extends up to Dadar on one side and up to the Gandhi Market on the other side. The roads will become marshy and slippery as well. The drainage system at the end of flyover should be cleaned up to allow free flow of rain water. Bandra-Khar pocket is another low lying area, where heavy traffic congestion takes place after a spell of rains.  There are chances of road accidents as well. Colaba pose the real danger due to its proximity to sea and a high tide or a low pressure may cause flooding of roads and the inmates, mostly fishermen should be evacuated to safer place before the impending danger.

In Kurla station the line connecting to Harbour Line route face water logging in most of the time and people get stranded. The stretch between Chunabhatti to Kurla on one side and up to GTB Nagar on the other side witnesses water logging every year and the trains are made to run slow in this particular pocket. Sometimes train services are discontinues if the water is not receding and the rain continues for a longer duration. Andheri is another area where monsoon plays havoc. The nagging issues include plenty of potholes and cradles in the busy roads and flooding on heavy traffic roads. It is time to prune up rain readiness measures on war footing before the situation goes out of hand. Mumbai musings during monsoon menace should be countered efficiently by the BMC team.

Jayanthy Subramaniam

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

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