'City of despair': Mumbikars say stop calling India's financial capital 'city of dreams', as deja vu of 20-year-old nightmare returns
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Indian Express
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BMC demolishes illegal hutments along Powai footpaths
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Indian Express
3 hours ago
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BMC to make waterholes on Vikhroli bridge for smooth discharge of rainwater
As the newly opened Vikhroli bridge witnessed flooding during the heavy rains over the past few days, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has decided to create waterholes on the two-month-old bridge for an improved discharge of accumulated rainwater. Built at a cost of Rs 180 crore, the 480 metres long bridge was opened for traffic in June. However, after heavy rains battered Mumbai between August 16 and 19, recording over 900 mm within a four-day period, the bridge witnessed waterlogging, affecting traffic movement. As photos and videos of the newly opened bridge surfaced on social media, the BMC came under the criticism. Following this, the officials carried out an inspection at the site on Thursday.A senior civic official told The Indian Express, 'The bridge got inundated because plastic material entered the drain and choked the outflow. The plastics were removed after the local ward office was alerted and soon after the water got drained out.' The officials said that they have mooted creation of waterholes on the boundary wall of the bridge to ensure the discharge of water as an alternative. 'The water accumulation was more this time because the intensity of rain was three times than average. Therefore, to ensure that there is an added outlet of water discharge, we will be creating waterhole on the walls,' the official added. The Vikhroli bridge connects the Eastern Express Highway in the east with Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg in the west of Vikhroli in Mumbai's eastern suburbs. The idea of building this bridge was conceived in 1997. However, construction could begin only in 2018. This is country's longest bridge, with an open-web-girder system passing above railway tracks. After becoming operational, the Vikhroli ROB has brought down commute time to seven minutes which earlier used to take 25-30 minutes.
News18
12 hours ago
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Four Days Of Rain, A City In Ruins: Why Mumbai's Flood Woes Keep Getting Worse
Year after year, crores are poured into flood management, but Mumbai still drowns with alarming regularity Every year, the monsoon devastates some part of Bharat. But this year, the monsoon rains, particularly in August, have unleashed widespread destruction across the nation, with several states brought to their knees amid cloudbursts, flash floods, and relentless downpours. As I write this piece from my workstation in Pune, amid incessant rainfall, I focus on the monsoon mayhem in Maharashtra, with particular emphasis on the maximum city, Mumbai. Going Down The Drains The Latin phrase Urbs Prima in Indis, meaning 'First City in India", has long described Mumbai's status as a major urban and commercial hub. But the city's frequent flooding during the monsoon paints a grim contrast. It is disheartening to note that Mumbai, a city that never sleeps, is once again brought to its knees by relentless rain. Ironically, this situation has unfolded despite the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation earmarking Rs 15,048 crore—20 per cent of its Rs 74,400 crore annual budget for 2025–26—for combating urban flooding. I humbly submit that each year, tens of thousands of crore rupees are flushed away in the name of flood management in Mumbai, while the spectre of urban flooding and the devastation it brings continues to worsen with alarming speed. Before returning to the state of Mumbai, here is a brief overview of the havoc created by incessant rainfall across Maharashtra over the past few days (August 16–20). Maharashtra Battered Maharashtra is witnessing an unmitigated disaster due to the fury of the skies. According to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the recent spell of rain has already claimed at least 21 lives across the state. With nine more rain related deaths reported by the state disaster authority in past 24 hours, as on Thursday August 21, the number of deaths in Maharashtra have swelled to 30. Also, kharif crops sown over 12–14 million hectares have been badly affected by just two days of rain, on Monday and Tuesday. Maximum City Under Siege Mumbai has been under siege. Incessant rainfall over four consecutive days, from August 16 to 19, has battered and bruised the city, bringing it to a standstill and disrupting the lives of millions. The IMD issued an orange alert for Wednesday, signalling heavy rainfall. With a slight reduction in intensity, Mumbai is now slowly limping back to its feet. According to BMC data, Tuesday, August 19 recorded abnormal rainfall, with most areas receiving over 300 mm. The worst-affected areas included: Wednesday's rain story is still unfolding. However, IMD data for the previous 24 hours shows: Four Days = One Month In just four days, rainfall in Mumbai has surpassed its monthly average. While the typical August rainfall is around 566 mm, the city recorded 837.3 mm between August 15 and 19, more than the total rainfall in June (512.7 mm) and July (797.3 mm). Notably, July is traditionally the wettest month, not August. Causes Meteorologists attribute the latest deluge to a strong offshore trough along Maharashtra's coast, fed by moisture from the Arabian Sea. Compounding the issue is a low-pressure area over central India, which is pulling this moisture westwards and fuelling the incessant downpour. Experts have also cited the convergence of multiple weather systems as a key factor. Additionally, experts have categorically warned that climate change is intensifying extreme rainfall events. They stress the urgent need for robust early warning systems and effective adaptation strategies. Mumbai will continue to face flood disasters unless such mechanisms are implemented, and the collateral damage to the city and its residents will only worsen. Collateral Damage The intensity of rainfall in Mumbai eased on Wednesday and Thursday and the city is slowly limping back to a semblance of normalcy. But Mumbai's ordeal is far from over. On Wednesday, 20 August, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a fresh warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms in Mumbai and several other districts of Maharashtra. Residents have been advised to remain indoors and avoid venturing into low-lying or flood-prone areas. Many local trains have been cancelled, while others are running significantly late. Schools, colleges, offices, and industries remained shut. A red alert has also been issued for the districts of Thane, Palghar, Raigad, and Ratnagiri. Flight services continue to be disrupted, with airlines issuing advisories warning of delays and cancellations. What is the collateral damage of nearly a week of torrential rainfall, culminating in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) grinding to a halt on Tuesday, 20 August? It is still too early to estimate the full impact. Harbour Line services were suspended for 15 hours, Central Line for 8 hours, and more than 100 Western Railway services were cancelled, each a grim reminder of the scale of the mayhem. The emergency evacuation of nearly 800 commuters from two stranded monorail trains is a horror story in itself. Thousands were evacuated across the MMR, and lakhs were left stranded. The worst affected, as always, are the poor, destitute, and homeless, yet few care to count how many of them have lost what little shelter they had. But this is not the full story. The economic cost of Mumbai and the MMR being in suspended animation for four days is enormous. And the reason is simple—this region is the economic powerhouse of both Maharashtra and Bharat. The MMR contributes between 35 and 40 per cent of Maharashtra's GDP, with Mumbai alone accounting for over 20 per cent. Known historically as Urbs Prima in Indis —the First City of India—Mumbai has a GDP of Rs 25.73 lakh crore (USD 310 billion), contributing 6.17 per cent to the national GDP. This raises a critical question: Can Mumbai afford such monsoon-induced disruptions year after year, especially as the situation continues to deteriorate? Not An Isolated Event One only wishes the chaos of the past four days were an isolated event. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Mumbai is no stranger to the havoc a single day of rain can wreak. Its worst encounter with such a catastrophe occurred on 26 July 2005, when an unprecedented 944.5 mm of rain fell in just 24 hours. The damage from the 2005 floods was catastrophic. Consider the figures: Lives lost: Over 1,000–1,200 Homes destroyed: Between 15,000 and 20,000 Vehicles damaged: 900 BEST buses, 55 local trains, around 40,000 auto-rickshaws, 4,000 taxis, and over 10,000 trucks and tempos Direct financial loss: Estimated between Rs 5 to 8 billion, with the city incurring a direct loss of about Rs 5.5 billion While the 2005 floods were the worst in recent memory, Mumbai had previously faced severe rain-related disasters as well: 5 July 1974: 375.2 mm 10 June 1991: 399 mm 23 August 1997: 344.34 mm 17 July 2000: 351.5 mm Each of these incidents exposed the woeful lack of preparedness of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Worse, each time a disaster struck, the civic body dismissed it as 'unprecedented", refusing to take responsibility or initiate meaningful reforms. On none of these occasions was a proper root cause analysis undertaken. No long-term or structural corrective measures were introduced. Not even the 2005 disaster proved to be a wake-up call for the state or city governments. Predictably, it happened again. On 1 July 2019, heavy rainfall claimed at least 18 lives and triggered massive disruptions to rail, road, and air traffic across Mumbai. These are just a few of many examples. Rain-induced chaos has become an annual, and tragically avoidable, event for Mumbai. And the reasons are well known. Experts have repeatedly blamed unchecked construction, poor urban planning, disappearing water bodies, inadequate stormwater infrastructure, and widespread garbage accumulation. As rainfall becomes more intense and unpredictable, Mumbai finds itself even more vulnerable today than it was in 2005. Ignored After the unprecedented 944.2 mm rainfall between 26 and 27 July brought Mumbai to its knees, the state government set up a fact-finding committee chaired by Madhav Chitale, the former chairman of the Central Water Commission. The committee's mandate was to examine the causes of the extreme weather event and suggest practical solutions. The final report, running 359 pages, should have become the lodestar against which Mumbai's anti-flood measures were assessed. Had the Chitale Committee's recommendations been implemented, Mumbai could have mitigated such preventable disasters. But that did not happen. So, What Did The Chitale Committee Recommend? The committee's core finding was clear: Indiscriminate land and property development had affected the natural ability of the city to manage rainwater in an environment-friendly way. It suggested, among other measures, that the channels along the Mithi river be kept free of encroachments, the drainage feature be kept to the required width and cleaned of siltation, and not subject to sudden changes of direction. The committee further suggested: Integrating urban planning with strategies to tackle extreme weather events; Conserving natural ecosystems, including the protection of mangroves and wetlands; Developing climate-resilient infrastructure and expanding urban green zones; Banning construction on river floodplains, which leads to waterlogging and flooding in Mumbai. Implementing these recommendations was never rocket science. Instead, Mumbai has continued with its preferred but shortsighted solution: spending thousands of crores each year to pump out water, an entirely reactive measure that fails to address root causes. Those root causes are now all too familiar: rapid, unplanned urbanisation, inadequate infrastructure, and years of environmental neglect. The breakneck expansion of the city, with scant regard for the necessary support systems, particularly for solid and liquid waste management, and a proper water and drainage network, is steadily eroding Mumbai's ability to survive. It Is Action Time Now It is time to dust off the Chitale Committee report and implement its core recommendations, urgently and earnestly. Because it is getting too late to preserve Mumbai's pre-eminent position as the financial and commercial capital of Bharat. Unless serious steps are taken immediately, there may soon be no Mumbai left to save from drowning. The government has ignored the Chitale Committee's key recommendations, and the city continues to reel from recurring urban flooding, each year worse than the last. Ironically, those very recommendations are even more relevant today than they were in 2005. top videos View all Unless the government wakes up and implements the committee's well-considered suggestions, the city's future will remain on borrowed time. The time to act was yesterday. Tomorrow will be too late. The author is a multidisciplinary thought leader with Action Bias, India-based international impact consultant, and keen watcher of changing national and international scenarios. He works as president, advisory services of consulting company BARSYL. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views. Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. tags : mumbai floods mumbai rains mumbai weather view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: August 21, 2025, 12:57 IST News opinion Akhil Vaani | Four Days Of Rain, A City In Ruins: Why Mumbai's Flood Woes Keep Getting Worse Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Loading comments...
