Mumbai monsoon mayhem

A deluged Mumbai now presents a different picture. The shutdown of the city which is home to over 15 million people due to inundation makes a statement about the failure to address the recurring problem.

The way Mumbai, a global financial hub has developed over the years is unsustainable and it largely explains why the ‘maximum city’ finds it hard to cope with the maximum rains.

The deluge warranted the declaration of a public holiday, closure of schools and colleges and cancellation of train services and flights and even deferment of TV and film shoots. The monsoon deluge brings out the best in Mumbaikars; they help each other by giving food packets and lifts to stranded commuters.

Distress shared is halved. How miserable life becomes when houses and ground floors in high-rises in the low lying areas are inundated or submerged by flood water needs no telling.

While water is being pumped out to restore the roads, the overflowing lakes and rivers and clogged drains and waterways make water stagnant.

While year after year, the BMC, the country’s richest civic body fails the Mumbaikars, blaming water-logging on the rising population and massive influx of people as done by BJP and describing the Malad wall collapse as an accident as done by Shiv Sena are no more than attempts to evade responsibility and throw their hand in. The victims of the wall collapse were daily-wage labourers.

The 10-year-old girl being trapped in the debris of the collapsed wall is too poignant to write about.

Meanwhile, the city’s resident and visiting population should take precautions to prevent catching diseases from contaminated water.

Maruthancode (TN)

Heavy rainfall over the last few days had virtually brought Mumbai to its knees. That Mumbai is now bracing itself for an unprecedented deluge with very heavy downpours which shows no sign of relenting now could send shivers down the spine of its residents. With climate change induced deluge/floods and crippling droughts now becoming regular features across the globe, it is incumbent upon the state authorities to usher in appropriate measures to mitigate its discernible negative fallouts. Encroachments of lakes, wetlands and other water bodies in cities like Mumbai explains why water-logging remain its perennial problem during rainy season. With floods wreaking a havoc on the lives and livelihoods of people besides exposing the creaky infrastructure of our cities on a regular basis, scientific management of floods has assumed much significance than ever.

Sholavandan (TN)

With reference to ‘Making a powerful case for dissent’ (July 2), the maiden speech of Mahua Moitra, the first time Member of Parliament from Bengal, was strong on content and forceful in articulation of her convictions. Rendered with clarity, the speech reflected her firm commitment to fight the ‘rising fascism’ in the country as well. ‘Professional hecklers’ in the treasury benches failed miserably in their efforts to subdue her spirit.

She read the Riot act to those who attempted to tie the democracy to fascist moorings, that their machinations wouldn’t succeed, and would face stiff resistance. She ended her speech telling those widely perceived as the one responsible for the rise of fascism, ‘India doesn’t belong to anyone’s father,’ a thoughtful assertion that every citizen belonging to every faith and every caste enjoyed the freedom and the rights as contained in the Constitution. And she taught the opposition benches the art of increasing the impact of strong interventions on critical matters using acceptable parliamentary idioms.

Gandhiji once said, ‘Be stubborn… for us, not for you — but not stubborn because you’re so set on what you want — stubborn because you have considered the maximum number of people who will benefit and wish to serve them by solidly banging the drum for what you know to be true.’ Moitra deserved unqualified approbation for re-energising the conversation on the perils of rising fascism.

Kozhikode

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