Opposition leaders on Monday staged a protest on the steps of the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan, mocking Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as the “missing Inframan” and accusing the state government of failing to protect citizens as heavy monsoon rains exposed what they described as crumbling infrastructure across Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra.
Senior Congress leaders Satej Patil and Vijay Wadettiwar, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Ambadas Danve and other Opposition legislators participated in the demonstration, alleging that inadequate infrastructure planning and poor civic management had severely disrupted the lives of people during the ongoing spell of heavy rainfall.
Without directly naming Fadnavis, the Opposition raised slogans claiming that “Inframan” had gone missing while holding the government responsible for infrastructure failures that they said had endangered the lives of Mumbaikars.
The protest referred to a post shared by the Chief Minister’s Office on June 10 last year, which described Fadnavis as “Infra Man: Maharashtra’s Next-Gen Urban and Transport Landscape!” while highlighting the government’s infrastructure initiatives.
The legislators alleged that Mumbai had come to a standstill after the first major spell of monsoon rain and criticised the government over rain-related deaths, including incidents involving open manholes and other civic infrastructure failures.
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said the recent deaths caused by rain-related incidents reflected the failure of both the state government and the civic administration to safeguard citizens.
Referring to a recent chawl collapse that claimed six lives, Wadettiwar said the tragedy was the result of administrative negligence rather than an unavoidable accident. He questioned whether the building had been declared unsafe and, if so, why residents had not been relocated in time.
“People should not have to pay with their lives because of administrative lapses,” he said.
Congress MLA Amin Patel also targeted the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), alleging that years of corruption had contributed to the deaths of at least 10 people in rain-related incidents over the past few days.
Congress MLC Satej (Bunty) Patil questioned the government’s preparedness despite advance warnings from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
“The IMD had predicted the likelihood of such heavy rainfall. What preparations were made? This is a total failure of governance, whether on the part of the Municipal Corporation or the government. Mumbai is an international city, yet we cannot even protect it,” he said.
Meanwhile, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule urged Chief Minister Fadnavis to make a detailed statement on the Missing Link project on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway after heavy rain, flooding and landslides disrupted traffic.
Both the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the old Mumbai-Pune Highway remained closed on Monday following heavy rainfall. According to police, the expressway was shut after a concrete pillar fell on the carriageway between the Connecting Link and the Missing Link sections.
The 13-km Missing Link project, inaugurated two months ago, was designed to reduce travel time between Mumbai and Pune by bypassing sections of the Sahyadri ranges.
Sule called for transparency regarding the project’s structural assessment and execution.
“The chief minister should make a proper statement. Was there a thorough assessment of the Missing Link bridge and the challenges it could face during heavy rainfall? The public deserves answers,” she said.
While refraining from directly alleging corruption, Sule said the actual cost of the project should be made public and argued that the widespread disruption had raised legitimate public concerns.
She added that connectivity between Mumbai and Pune had been severely affected, with the Tamhini Ghat route, the old Mumbai-Pune Highway and the Missing Link section all facing disruptions, making travel difficult even for legislators attending the ongoing Assembly session.
The Maharashtra government has not yet officially responded to the Opposition’s allegations.
