Citizens claim that BMC is misleading them about the completion of pre-monsoon desilting work.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) makes tall claims about Mumbai being ready to face monsoon but the manner in which desilting work is progressing the city is likely to witness waterlogging incidents this time too. The Shiv Sena-BMC is ruling the BMC which is known the richest civic body of the nation with a budget outlay of Rs 33,514 crores for 2015-16 but the slow paced work of cleaning nullahs will result in choked drains and waterlogged roads. Thus this time too, Mumbaikars will have to face huge inconvenience after the onset of monsoon. Whenever the issue of desilting of drains is raised both Shiv Sena and BJP pass the buck on each other as neither of them is willing to take responsibility for it. The bureaucratic functioning of the civic body too is hampering the pace of the work. The BMC is spending Rs 250 crore on desilting over a two-year period, cleaning both big and small nullahs but results are not visible. Often politicians visit Mithi river to oversee the cleaning of nullah work but often such incidents turn out to be mere photo sessions for garnering publicity.
If heavy rains lash the city then it will cause huge inconvenience to commuters due to late running of trains and cancellations of some suburban train services. Potholes are visible in several areas of the city as the civic body has not repaired the roads. Last year many people had lost their lives on account of the potholed roads. Are we going to see repeat of such mishaps this year too? The road concretisation work is yet to be completed. Citizens will have to bear on account of the lackadaisical attitude of the civic body officials.
When AV spoke to AAP state executive committee member, Ravi Srivastava he said, “We will take up the issue of water snakes being found in suburbs with the concerned officials. Uniforms must be provided to cleaners when they clean sewage. The BMC claims that they are ready for the monsoon but the reverse is true.”
NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said, “The BMC had conceptualised the Brihanmumbai Storm Water Disposal System in 2005 for overhauling the city’s drainage system. Whenever, I had raised this issue with the civic body they have said that 80 per cent work has been completed and work is in progress. They are misleading the citizens by making false claims.”
Congress leader Dr Raju Waghmare said, “The BMC claims that they have used 2000 truckloads of mud for closing the sewages. It’s a laughing matter. Where did the mud disappear? Why are sewages opened then? Also that they disposed of the filth and garbage from the drains.”
Subash Das, a Malad resident said, “The BMC has not cleared the drains in my area. So this time we will witness waterlogging incidents. Every year the same story is repeated as nobody is bothered about the hardships faced by citizens during monsoon.”
Suhas Kadam, a Kandivali resident working in a private firm said, “Every year, Mumbaikars have to face severe hardships due to waterlogging and potholed roads. Why is the BMC not worried about completing the work before the arrival of monsoon?”
Urvesh Patel a Kandivali resident said, “Sea shores are dirty, beaches and dumped with all sort of waste. Lakes are stinking. If the water gets accumulated during monsoon then it will become a breeding ground for mosquitoes which results into the outbreak of various diseases. Citizens will have to take precaution to avoid water borne diseases.”
Anil Shah, a business man from Borivali said, “Monsoon brings the city to a standstill every year and this time too the scenario will be no different. The civic body is simply wasting the tax-payers hard earned money due to the substandard work performed by it.”
Money has never been a problem for the cash rich BMC for undertaking the pre-monsoon work. On the other hand, the Shiv Sena-BJP ruled BMC says that it is ready to tackle any eventualities during the monsoon.
