Editorial: Maximum City, Minimum Accountability

Instead of invoking the ‘Mumbai spirit’ to describe how its citizens show resilience, the right question that needs to be asked is why administration and political leadership fail every time in mitigating the suffering of the people

Every time Mumbai faces a deluge, bringing the metropolis to a standstill, news anchors from television studios invoke a patronising expression —‘Mumbai spirit’— to describe how its citizens show resilience and bounce back to normal life. But, the question is whether they have any other choice. What can they probably do other than show the so-called ‘Mumbai spirit’? The right question that needs to be asked, in times of such repeated crises, is why the administration and political leadership fail every single time in mitigating the suffering of the people. A sense of déjà vu grips Mumbaikars every time heavy rains batter the city and cripple normal life. It is no different this time. A familiar set of unresolved problems — water logging, overflowing drains, flooding of roads and railway tracks and total collapse of the public transport system — comes back to haunt the residents of the country’s financial capital. Clearly, the authorities of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have not learnt any lessons from the past and were found wanting to deal with the present crisis too. Torrential rains have been lashing several parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing an ‘orange’ alert for the metropolis, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall coupled with thunderstorms. The IMD records show that at 295 mm, the Colaba observatory has now recorded the highest rainfall during May, shattering a 107-year-old record for the month — the previous record being 279.4 mm reported in May 1918.

Several parts of the city reported severe waterlogging, prompting a political war of words. The flooding has once again exposed the ill-preparedness of the administration and the shoddy drainage works in the city. It is unfortunate that a political blame game erupts every time people are put through a long ordeal. This is the time for serious introspection about civic issues and ways to fix them instead of shirking from responsibilities. From waterlogged streets to traffic snarls and crumbling infrastructure, the monsoon paints a grim picture of an otherwise bustling metropolis. An outdated drainage system, destruction of the natural barriers against climate change and unsustainable urbanisation are weighing heavy on the city’s capacity to deal with heavy monsoons and climate change. The heavy downpours repeatedly expose the failure of the civic body to improve its drainage system and the hollowness of a political system that has allowed unbridled development which has affected the region’s natural capacity to absorb heavy rainfall. The city’s stormwater drainage system is almost a century old and the drains are heavily silted and punctured at many places. Rapid urbanisation has played a major role in aggravating the problem as it has caused significant alterations to the hydrology, morphology, habitat and ecology of India’s commercial capital. Over the years, many of Mumbai’s natural drains and waterways have been encroached upon. They need to be reclaimed and revitalised.

---