The monsoon is round the corner but the so-called preparedness by the authorities is far away from reassuring. Last year, the monsoon over Kerala occurred on May 29. This year, 4 June is the date forecast by the weather bureau. Accordingly, it may arrive in Mumbai by the end of the first week of June, a matter of just a few days.
Like every year in the past, the state government and the BMC have released long lists of the steps being planned to face the fury of monsoon. Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde has directed all civic bodies in the state to conduct third-party structural audits of dangerous buildings through reputed experts rather than taking the reports obtained by cooperative housing societies at face value.
In view of the monsoon, Mumbai’s 226 dilapidated buildings have been declared as in a “very dangerous” condition. In fact, over 430 buildings in the metropolis have been identified as dangerous. While 193 buildings of the list have been demolished, cases against 101 structures are sub-judice. Residents of 82 buildings have been shifted to safety while power and water connections of 27 buildings have been cut off.
The western suburbs of Mumbai have the highest number of dangerous structures at 126. This is followed by the eastern suburbs with 65 buildings and 35 in the island city. The BMC has asked people to vacate the shaky buildings. BMC commissioner I.S.Chahal has been said to be constantly monitoring the situation.
CM Shinde’s proactive planning will minimize loss of life or property. Shinde said on Monday at a Sahyadri guest house meeting that the monsoon preparedness of all agencies in the state is ensured. He directed to review structural audits after being informed by the BMC that it had shifted residents of a score of buildings declared unsafe. About the state, Shinde said that the civic bodies should also arrange for accommodating the families likely to be affected so that they agree to evacuate the dangerous areas or buildings they occupy. Representatives from the Coast Guard, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Railways and other bodies made presentations on their monsoon preparedness. Officials from the Army, Navy and Air Force also attended the meeting.
Shinde’s comprehensive planning is in stark contrast with the precautions taken in earlier years. However, he will have to ensure that the implementation is as good as it looks good on paper. According to the briefing he received, 18 NDRF teams, seven State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) contingents, 10 Navy and six Coast Guard groups will be ready, equipped with lifeboats and other rescue material. The Indian Air Force has kept two helicopters ready to tackle any disaster during the monsoon. Shinde asked the agencies to avoid loss of life during the emergencies. He also directed the agencies to use modern technology for search-rescue operations. All officials must keep their mobile phones active round-the-clock. The officials of all agencies, from district or division to state levels, should maintain constant interaction and coordination. The CM asked the BMC and railway officials to clear drains to avoid waterlogging on railway tracks so that lakhs of suburban railway commuters in Mumbai are spared any hardships during the rainy season.
Every monsoon, several lives are lost due to landslides and the victims are the poor. Considering this fact, Shinde asked the BMC to shift the residents in landslide-prone locations in the suburbs and reserve schools and multi-purpose halls ready to accommodate such people and feed them.
One common grievance in Maharashtra is the craters in the roads. Shinde noted this lacuna and asked the officials to undertake a drive to fill potholes on roads in the state. To avoid flood-like situation in western Maharashtra and Vidarbha, the CM asked the irrigation department to be on alert from the beginning of the monsoon season.
While Shinde has been successful in creating an impression that the governmental machinery at each level is ready to tackle the situation in monsoon, the ground reality can be different. For instance, the BMC has claimed that it has completed 93 percent of desilting works. On the other hand, many corporators from different wards have complained about the nullahs in their wards overflowing with silt and garbage. The BMC has announced that to efficiently address such complaints, the civic authorities will be creating an online dashboard. People can send photographs of such choked up nullahs and garbage in their areas to upload on this helpline. But the response by the people is lacking. The desilting work is expected to be completed by May 31. So, the helpline will be active from June 1 to 10. The complaint will be forwarded to the ward concerned and the team will ensure that the work gets completed before monsoon starts, civic officials claim.
Shinde has already inspected Mumbai’s pre-monsoon preparedness measures. Owing to the constant media exposures over the nullah desilting, he has asked the civic body to ensure that the contractors do their work satisfactorily. Even then, the complaints persist.
Praja Foundation, a NGO, last week released some revealing statistics. According to it, the public grievances related to solid waste management have increased manifold between 2013 and 2022. The highest number of complaints in 2022 related to garbage lying unlifted.
Over the years, the quality of life in Mumbai has been going down due to various factors. Bad roads, encroachments, pollution and traffic jams are the most common complaints. As far as Maharashtra is concerned, the situation is alarming since urbanization is gaining more and more speed. Planning by the government appears only in academic circles. This is evident in major cities like Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, to name just a few. How to break this vicious circle is the main challenge for the rulers. The monsoon that will hit Maharashtra in a week’s time will once again prove to be the acid test of what the government says and what actually happens.
