Another monsoon, same story for Mumbai. What is ailing the maximum city?

'Rain, rain go away, come again another day...' This is what Mumbaikars seem to be saying these days. Although the rains have relented for now, the unpredictable weather patterns the city is known to face have the citizens on their toes. A born and bred Mumbaikar, I am quite familiar with the rains in the city and the perils they bring. The complaints are the same always—clogged drains, bigger potholes, bad traffic jams and flooding.

After the flooding in 2005, the city's civic authorities identified 60 localities that are the most prone to flooding. These include prime spots like Bandra Hill road, Santacruz Milan Subway to South Mumbai spots like Senapati Bapat Marg in Mahim, Hindmata at Dadar and Central Mumbai locations like Kurla station and Deonar colony. Over the years, people have learned to be cautious during the rains. They stay indoors during heavy showers or when there is a warning of heavy showers. Despite such precautions, many get stuck either at their work place or on the way.

In 2018, the Maharashtra government informed the Parliament that Mumbai's rail network had incurred a loss of Rs 4,000 crore owing to flooding from 2014 to 2017. According to 2017 Maharashtra economic survey, Mumbai alone generates an yearly income of over Rs 3,00,000 crore. So, each rainy holiday costs the city approximately Rs 873 crore.

“Yes there is excess population. But the ruling party needs to look after that. There is garbage floating around. I wish there was something I could do to help. Footpaths are being occupied by cars. I would like to know how my tax money is being used. I know flooding cannot be stopped, but perhaps a better process can be put in place. Once again, it seems that the BMC has failed its citizens,” says Namrata Kaushik, a city-based marketing professional.

The city, which is the entertainment and financial capital of the country, owes a lot of its development to reclaimed land. Essentially an island city, it is easy to think that excess water could just seep into the sea. But that is where one is wrong. “Reclaimed land is concrete. This does not allow water to seep into the ground. This results in a lot of local flooding and water logging,” explains Sridhar Balasubramanian, associate professor, department of mechanical engineering and associate faculty, interdisciplinary programme (IDP) in Climate Studies, IIT Bombay. He goes on to say, “This water keeps flowing, and there is no short-term solution visible except for unclogged drains. Climate change is definitely a major culprit for the flood situation. In a short period, the amount of rainfall the city receives has increased. But our drainage system does not have the capacity to take it in. It is important that we keep our green cover alive. That is, plant more trees.”

Mumbai was literally built by taking up landfills coupled with deforestation to combine the seven islands it is made up of since 1816, making it, literally an urban jungle. And this is where the main problem lies. Another major contributor seems to be the ever-growing population that keeps traveling to the city of dreams to do business, make it in showbiz or just to find a job.

“The city's population is far more than what its infrastructure can accommodate. It is easy to blame civic authorities, but it is the citizens who throw plastic waste on to the streets, on to the railway lines. There are pumping systems to flush out water, but there are complaints like the pumps don't work; there is corruption, lack of intent. Residents continue using and disposing plastic waste that clog the drains, despite ban in the city,” says Corporator Makarand Narwekar.

“Data shows that most of the projects meant to improve drainage and hydro infrastructure are incomplete. Constructions are being approved without any consideration to impact on seepage or drainage. The BMC, the richest municipal corporation, has close to Rs 7,00,000 crore in reserve. Yet, with each passing year, infrastructure has only gotten worse. So yes, the blame lies with them for the mess. But the blame also lies with the city— which has elected the same party to power in the BMC for 20 years. If we are tired of the corruption, it isn't showing,” says Salil Deshpande, a city-based journalist.

With the rains getting worse each year, the BMC has been buying and renting thousands of smaller pumps to flush more water out of the city.

Milind Mhaske, director of Praja Foundation, an organisation that is working towards enabling an accountable government, says, "There is so much to be done. If compared with tacking a disease, the symptoms aren't being read right. In our country, firstly, the cities are not really run in a democratic manner, certainly not Mumbai. True, a councilor and a commissioner are elected, but they aren't being empowered to deliver proper change. For example, the councilors can only negotiate changes in a budget being designed for the city and not design it themselves. There are multiple agencies floating around like rail authorities and MMRDA. The metro is being managed by someone else. Firstly, citizens do not really know where to go to lodge complains. Even if they do lodge a complaint, they are often tossed around from one authority to another. But again, citizens on their part should file as many complaints as possible, so that officers are held responsible. It is like a bad chain reaction. Cleaning up their surroundings or insisting on having their surroundings clean is another thing a citizen can do. "

Mumbai has a network of 2,000km open drains with more than 186 outages to the Arabian sea. On the heaviest day of rains in 2017, Mumbai received approximately 418 mm rain in 12 hours. And in the monsoon of 2005, the city received 944 mm rain in 24 hours, which brought the city to standstill for 48 hours. This year, only a month into the monsoon, the city has seen close to 38 deaths. Drownings in pothole related incidents and disease are another matter.

Destruction of swamps and coastal areas with over-construction adds to the mess, making it prone to flooding. Besides, the city's alternate drainage system like Mithi river and Mahim creek have over the years accumulated so much silt or excessive waste, that it blocks the flow of water and causes water to overflow from its banks. Yet another factor to be considered is high tide.

Sustainable construction and proper waste management does seem like a step in the right direction. “Reduce plastic, reuse plastic, segregate waste, store water on rooftops or dig wells for rainwater harvesting. Keep cleaning the system as leaves and bark of trees too tend to clog up the drains,” says professor Sridhar.