Twelve years later: Nothing much seems to have changed in Mumbai

Mangalore Today News Network

Mumbai, Aug 29, 2017 : It was the worst disaster that Mumbai faced - both because of natural causes and man-made causes. The deluge of 26 July 2005 – but 12 years, one month and three days later – the commercial capital of the country, faced a similar situation on 29 August 2017.

 

Nothing much seems to have changed – as several infrastructure bottlenecks of the Maximum City are yet to be addressed.

If one goes back to 2005, the causes were natural, because Mumbai has never seen such rains and man-made because Mumbai has not undergone a planned development. Mumbai was not prepared or rather never prepared to tackle such rains.


Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), which is spread over 600 sq km could not withstand the pressure of nearly 944.2 mm rainfall in 24 hours. The high tide accompanied by rainfall following a cloudburst – created havoc in India’s commercial capital on 26 July 2005 – the memories of which are still fresh in the mind of one and all in Mumbai.

It had left over 500 dead and lakhs homeless in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane and Raigad districts. This July 26 marks the 12th anniversary of that disaster.

The road, rail and air transport had come to a standstill, the communication system was paralysed and the damages were more than Rs 2,000 crore. It was a case of urban flash floods – and now commonly referred to as 26/7. Lakhs of people were stranded at different places during the deluge and could reach home only after the second or third day. Some did not.

The reasons were one too many. Firstly, there were unprecedented rains – the highest in a century’s time on a single day. Secondly, the pressure on land in Mumbai is too high coupled with unplanned development. Thirdly, high tide coupled with rains led to severe pressure on the 100-year-old storm water drainage system. Fourthly, there was no prediction of rainfall of such magnitude, for July 26-27. And most importantly, the city was never prepared for such a disaster. A week after the deluge, there was an outbreak of water-borne diseases and series of building and wall collapses.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport was closed for more than 30 hours. For nearly two days, the suburban trains of Central Railway and Western Railway could not run. Several upcountry trains were delayed, rescheduled or cancelled. Traffic on the Mumbai-Pune, Mumbai-Nashik, Mumbai-Surat and Mumbai-Goa route were badly affected. In some places in Kalina, water reached up to a height of over six to eight feet and reached the first floor as well.

One of the issues that need to be underscored is the infrastructural vulnerability of Mumbai. Whenever the city receives heavy rains, its roads get waterlogged, and the traffic is disrupted. Though the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) undertakes monsoon preparedness measures, its efforts have not proved to be very effective due to its old drainage system.

This year too twice, there have been incidents of near breakdown of traffic of Mumbai because of rains. A lot of money has been spent on Mithi river, but it still floods. The Brimstowad project, a complete renewal of stormwater system is yet to be fully complete.



courtesy:DHNS