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The Print
29-05-2025
- The Print
Mantralaya to Marine Drive, why South Mumbai spots that have never seen flooding went underwater
As a result, areas like Mantralaya, Kemps Corner, Flora Fountain, Colaba, and Marine Drive saw roads nearly turn into pools. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was also caught off guard after monsoon arrived earlier than its expected date of 11 June this year. And, while several parts of South Mumbai have seen waterlogging in the past during 'heavy rainfall' events, described by India Meteorological Department (IMD) as rainfall between 64 and 124 mm, several areas in the district, including Nariman Point, received over 200 mm of rain between midnight and 11 am Monday. Mumbai: Heavy monsoon rains that lashed Mumbai Monday inundated several areas of South Mumbai for the first time. In addition to record rainfall, the waterlogging is attributed to a number of civic issues, including the metro project, blocked drains, and non-functional water pumps at stations. 'We were surprised that some locations which never saw waterlogging got waterlogged. Some locations were expected, but something like Mantralaya, Metro Cinemas was not expected. We were surprised. These are not traditional flooding spots,' BMC Assistant Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar told ThePrint. On Wednesday, Mumbai suburban guardian minister and BJP Mumbai president Ashish Shelar visited the BMC office and held meetings with senior officials to take stock of the situation. Later, while speaking to the media, he said Mumbaikars had to suffer because of certain contractors and senior officers. 'We have spoken to the BMC commissioner, and he accepted that there was an issue with desilting work as well as the water pumps' functionality and availability. BJP will make sure that it stands with BMC and Mumbaikars and gets this work done in the next 8 days,' Shelar said, adding that the commissioner had given assurances in that regard. He said that a delegation of BJP ex-corporator and functionaries and himself had also asked for a white paper from the civic body's commissioner on the BMC's expenses on various projects in the last two decades. Reasons for the flooding On Monday, amid heavy rainfall, new flood-prone areas emerged in South Mumbai with people seen wading through knee-deep water across the district, including Colaba, Metro cinemas, Cuffe Parade, Mantralaya, Churchgate station. After the floods on 26 July 2005, the last time some of these areas were inundated was in August 2020, when, according to the IMD, Colaba saw nearly 225 mm of rainfall in just 9 hours. The flooding was particularly surprising given that South Mumbai's drainage system, built by the British over 140 years ago, has a capacity of 50 mm rainfall per hour, as compared to the 25 mm rainfall per hour across the rest of Mumbai. Town planner Sulakshana Mahajan, while speaking to ThePrint, said that flooding in areas like Mantralaya, which are reclaimed areas and have better planned roads than low-lying lying areas, was unprecedented. 'Town planning is quite neglected, as more than experts, the political class decides what to do. Climate change is a reality, and it has changed the rain pattern in Mumbai. It is complicated,' said Mahajan. Furthermore, some of the waterlogging could have been avoided had dewatering pumps, essential for flood-prone areas, been working. Bangar admitted that pumps in areas like Hindmata, Gandhi Market, Chunabhatti and Masjid Bunder were not fully operational, leading to waterlogging. 'These water pumping stations were not fully operational, leading to waterlogging in these areas. This all was avoidable.' Last year, the BMC reduced the number of pumps across Mumbai from 481 to 417, where some were not required, while others could help the civic body cut its expenditures. It spends Rs 150 crore annually on water pumps, according to the data from the civic body. Bangar told ThePrint that there will be 15 vehicle-mounted pumps available for South Mumbai by next week. These can then be used to deal with flooding emergencies as and when they arise. He also suspected that road works and their debris could be other reasons why certain spots were flooded. For instance, Bangar said debris and garbage from the ongoing road works near Oval Maidan had choked the nearby drains and contributed to the waterlogging near Mantralaya. Among other reasons, BMC is also now assessing incomplete cleaning (desilting) of drains. According to Bangar, 94 percent work was complete for major drains, but only 54 percent of the Mithi river, a crucial drainage channel, and 70 percent of minor drains across Mumbai, including South Mumbai, had been completed. The Mithi river desilting project is currently under the scanner of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police, which is investigating an alleged scam in the allocation of its tenders. Two of the three contractors were accused of the scam. 'That you know and the third one (contractor), we have blacklisted because we found erroneous practices with the contractor. And so, our pace there has slowed down and we need to increase it,' he said. However, Bangar denied that the concretisation of the road project, undertaken by BMC, was one of the reasons for waterlogging. 'Of 1,174 roads that we had dug up for concretisation, we have finished concrete work on 1,170 roads. Now, on some of the roads, curing work is remaining, which we intend to do in the next 8 days. And that work requires water. So rains won't hamper it,' he said. Also Read: How Mumbai civic body is using AI to hold contractors accountable during pre-monsoon desilting Focus on metro line Mahajan said the work of the underground metro line could also be a reason. 'While constructing the underground metro, I doubt there has been any coordination between the BMC and MMRC (Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation), the nodal agency, regarding drainage pipelines and stormwater. For the metro, it is dug up deep, so whether it is done properly or not is the question.' On Monday, the Acharya Atre Chowk metro station of the partially opened Metro 3 line—from Aarey JVLR to Acharya Atre Chowk—was shut down after it flooded This drew criticism since the second leg of this underground metro—BKC to Acharya Atre Chowk—had started operating just two weeks ago. On Tuesday, in a video statement, Ashwini Bhide, the managing director of the MMRC, said that the station flooded after 11 lakh litres of water from the stormwater drain that had collected in a pit near the exit of the metro station gushed into the station. This, she said, occurred because a combination of high tide and heavy rainfall led the drains to back-charge instead of draining into the sea. 'Acharya Atre Chowk station, which is the terminal station of the commissioned stretch, now has two entry-exits functioning, whereas the station actually has six entry-exits and work on the remaining ones is still ongoing and is likely to be completed in the next two-three months,' she added. She further said that, while there was a bund wall in place to temporarily protect from floods, it could not handle this 'unprecedented' deluge. Firstly, let's be clear — 90 mm of rain is not an extreme event for Mumbai. This is the kind of rainfall the city experiences every monsoon, every year. Secondly, isn't it the core responsibility of @MumbaiMetro3 to plan for extreme events? Because if infrastructure starts… — Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) May 27, 2025 On Monday, MP and Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad questioned the rush to inaugurate the metro line when work was not completed 'Why were these checks and balances not done? Why wasn't enough precaution taken? How can people trust underground metro travel on heavy rain days? The government must answer, it must fix responsibility. We don't want hyped inaugurations, but basic safety and functionality,' she said on X. A day later, responding to Bhide's statement, Gaikwad said, in a post on X, 'If infrastructure starts collapsing under routine rainfall, what exactly are we planning for? The officer here is admitting that the flood prevention bund wall they had built was not built for this kind of situation… This isn't just negligence — it's institutional impunity.' Politics over flooding Opposition parties Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress lashed out at the BJP-led Mahayuti government, holding it responsible for the flooding. While speaking to the media Monday, Shiv Sena (UBT) Aaditya Thackeray accused the Maharashtra government of corruption, questing why areas like Hindmata and Gandhi Nagar, which were made made to be flood-free earlier, were inundated. In a post on X, Monday, he further asked why the newly built road in Kemps Corner caved in, how water got into the metro 3 line, and how waterlogging was reported inside KEM hospital on Nepean Sea Road. 'Why does the BJP hate Mumbai so much? Why does the BJP want to finish Mumbai? The Road scam that I have been exposing—Today we see that Mumbai is suffering due to this scam.' Thackeray has alleged corruption in the road concretisation projects, claiming that a few contractors were favoured. We are seeing absolute absence of governance in Maharashtra today. Mumbai has collapsed in the rains, and it's only May. Last week, it was Andheri Subway and Saki Naka that was flooded. Today, it is South and Central Mumbai facing the brunt of the BMC being controlled by bjp… — Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) May 26, 2025 'The State Government MUST initiate a fair probe into this incompetence,' he added. However, speaking to the media Wednesday, BJP leader Shelar said the Thackerays were responsible for the current conditions, claiming that they misruled Mumbai through the BMC for 25 years. 'Where has the money gone that was used for the BRIMSTOWAD (Brihanmumbai Storm Water Drain System project) to protect Mumbai from flooding? Why are you fooling the people of Mumbai?' asked Shelar. The BRIMSTOWAD project, which began in 2005 to improve the city's storm water drainage system, has been ongoing ever since. It included the rehabilitation and augmentation of drains, widening and deepening of nullahs, and construction of pumping stations. (Edited by Sanya Mathur) Also Read: Big win for citizens' campaign as BMC set to finally clean up Powai lake after years of govt inaction
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Business Standard
27-05-2025
- Business Standard
Why a few hours of rain still bring India's biggest cities to a standstill
On Monday morning (May 26), commuters on Mumbai's much-hyped Aqua Line 3 metro were met not by the promise of smoother travel, but by ankle-deep floodwater. The newly inaugurated underground station at Worli was inundated after an intense burst of monsoon rain, water poured down its walls, flooded the platform, and leaked through the roof. The city's earliest monsoon arrival in 35 years had made its entrance, and left the latest civic showpiece in tatters. Meanwhile, in Delhi, Saturday's record-breaking downpour turned the capital's roads into rivers. With 185.9 mm of rainfall this May, nearly nine times the usual, the city is witnessing its wettest May ever. Flights were delayed, traffic choked, and low-lying areas submerged as thunderclouds ripped across the skyline. Down south, Bengaluru, last week, was battered by a 12-hour rain marathon that flooded 500 homes, killed at least three people, and filled over 20 lakes to capacity. The city, perched on a plateau with no natural river drainage, turned into a bowl of chaos, yet again. From north to south, the script is the same: a few hours of rain and entire cities collapse. Why do Indian cities flood so easily? Why haven't years of warnings, policies, and crores in spending fixed this? And more importantly, who is really accountable? People are left stuck, governments rush to react, and the damage runs deeper than just flooded roads—it hits lives, livelihoods, and the economy. Why are cities like Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai so flood-prone? Much of urban India relies on colonial-era drainage systems designed over a century ago. Take Mumbai: the city's stormwater network, laid out by the British in the 1860s, was engineered to carry 25 mm of rain per hour during low tide. That might have sufficed for a coastal town of 2 million people—not for a mega-metropolis of over 20 million that now routinely sees rainfall exceeding 100 mm/hour. In Delhi, the drainage network was built for just 50 mm of daily rain, based on standards from 1976. The capital, however, now regularly receives four times that amount in a single day. Bengaluru's stormwater drains are equally archaic and poorly maintained, clogged with silt, debris and sometimes even furniture. The result then is that rainwater that should drain away instead turns city streets into cesspools. How poor planning and lost wetlands made urban flooding worse Rapid and unplanned urbanisation has only made things worse, argue infra experts. Across cities, construction has bulldozed through natural buffers like lakes, wetlands and drainage valleys. Mumbai has lost nearly 80 per cent of its natural water bodies over the last four decades. So has Bengaluru, where once-interconnected lakes like Bellandur and Varthur are now flanked by tech parks and apartment blocks. In Delhi-NCR, high-rise colonies and malls stand where floodplains once soaked up excess rainwater. These wetlands acted like sponges. With them gone, there is nowhere for the water to go, except up into homes and down into basements. Even where drains exist, they often serve as dumping grounds rather than water channels. Solid waste, silt and construction debris routinely clog drainage lines, reducing their capacity by as much as 40–60 per cent. Mumbai, for instance, produces over 9,000 tonnes of garbage every day. Much of it ends up in the city's waterways. In 2025, despite a ₹550 crore desilting budget, only 37 per cent of the silt in the Mithi River was removed before the rains began. Court delays were blamed. The consequences were predictable. In Bengaluru, experts estimate that only 10 per cent of the city's stormwater drain capacity is functional. The rest is filled with solid waste, sewage or hardened silt. Why flood-control budgets don't solve India's waterlogging problem Infrastructure breakdowns are only part of the story. At the heart of the waterlogging crisis lies broken urban governance. Drainage systems fall under a patchwork of agencies, municipal corporations, state departments and central bodies, each working in silos, often at cross-purposes. In Mumbai, the long-delayed BRIMSTOWAD project, launched in 1993 to modernise stormwater drains—its Phase II remains just 50 per cent complete, while Phase I is at 75 per cent completion. Disputes between the BMC and state authorities have stalled key pumping stations for years. Delhi's new drainage master plan has been in the works since 2016 but remains unapproved. In its absence, the city continues to combine sewage and stormwater in the same pipes—a recipe for disaster when it floods. How topography and encroachment magnify urban flood damage Topography plays a cruel trick on Indian cities. Many of the worst-hit areas are built on reclaimed or low-lying land, where water naturally collects. Mumbai's plush neighbourhoods like Worli and Nariman Point are built on reclaimed land. When it rains, water from higher parts of the city rushes down to these pockets, often blocked by construction or tidal backflow. In Delhi, the Yamuna floodplains have been encroached upon by both formal and informal settlements. During intense rains, these areas are the first to drown, and the last to receive relief. Is climate change accelerating urban flooding in Indian cities? Climate change has turbocharged these vulnerabilities. Extreme rainfall events are now more frequent, intense and unpredictable. Mumbai received 944 mm of rain in a single day in 2005, a record many dismissed as a freak event. But by 2024, such 'freak' events are becoming annual. Climate models predict a 30 per cent increase in extreme rainfall by 2030. Delhi saw over 200 mm of rainfall in 24 hours in 2024. Bengaluru, too, has faced cloudbursts that its outdated infrastructure simply cannot handle. When heavy rains coincide with high tide or construction blockages, the system collapses, and the city drowns. Who is responsible when floods claim lives and paralyse cities? The toll is not just infrastructural, it's human. In 2024, Mumbai recorded at least seven deaths from open manholes and submerged drains. Delhi saw the death of nearly 20 people last year, mostly children and workers, to drowning or electrocution. In May 2025, Bengaluru saw three flood-related deaths, including a child and a 63-year-old man electrocuted while trying to drain his home. The economic losses are equally staggering. Flood-related disruptions in Mumbai alone have cost the city thousands of crores over the years, with halted trains, shuttered offices and damaged infrastructure. Meanwhile, authorities continue to offer reactive, band-aid solutions: temporary dewatering pumps, emergency desilting drives or new bylaws for rainwater harvesting. But without long-term, integrated planning, these remain cosmetic fixes. Upgrading city-wide drainage systems requires multi-agency coordination, consistent funding and data-driven design based on updated rainfall and runoff patterns, none of which urban India currently has in place. As the climate crisis intensifies, the water will only rise. The real question then becomes how long can Indian cities tread water before they sink under the weight of their own neglect?
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Time of India
Morning news wrap: Car ploughs into crowd in Liverpool, Mumbai sees earliest southwest monsoon; and more
Liverpool car incident; Mumbai rain From a car ploughing into a crowd during Liverpool FC's victory parade to the earliest arrival of southwest monsoon in Mumbai, the past 24 hours brought several major headlines. Police have arrested a 53-year-old British man for the incident in Liverpool. The southwest monsoon hit Mumbai - the earliest onset ever recorded for the country's financial capital. Asaduddin Owaisi mocks Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif and field marshal Asim Munir over fake image of 'Operation Bunyan.' Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson makes fun of Emmanuel Macron after the French president was 'slapped' by his wife. In IPL, Rohit Sharma's poor form is hurting Mumbai India's campaign. Car ploughs into Liverpool parade crowd, nearly 50 injured A 53-year-old British man was arrested after he plowed a car into the crowd of pedestrians in England who were celebrating Liverpool's Premier League victory at a Monday parade, resulting in injuries to nearly 50 people. Several videos and footage shared by the users n X, showed the car ploughing into the group of people and then speeding up before coming to a halt. Other footage shows people striking the car after it stopped, with the back windscreen shattered. Read full story Mumbai reels under earliest ever arrival of monsoon The southwest monsoon hit Mumbai on Monday - the earliest onset ever recorded for the city. The previous record was May 29, recorded in 1956, 1962, and 1971. The early onset coincided with the island city breaking a 100-year-old record for rainfall received in May, which has now touched 295mm. Shubhangi Bhute, head of IMD Mumbai, said, "Typically, the monsoon sets in around June 11, so this year's onset is significantly early... Tomorrow, Mumbai will be under a yellow alert." Read full story Asaduddin Owaisi's jibe at Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif, Asim Munir over fake image of 'Operation Bunyan' Speaking to Indian diaspora in Kuwait, Owaisi said, " Yesterday, the Pakistani Army chief gifted a photo to the Pakistani PM Shehbaz stupid jokers want to compete with India, they had given a photograph of a 2019 Chinese Army drill claiming it is a victory over India. This is what Pakistan indulges in...'Nakal karne ke liye akal chahiye'...inke pass akal bhi nahi hai'...whatever Pakistan is saying, do not take even with a pinch of salt. " Read full story Russian official mocks Macron's awkward moment with wife Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova mocked a viral video in which French President Emmanuel Macron appeared to have his face pushed away by his wife Brigitte upon their arrival in Vietnam. She wrote on Telegram that Macron had received "A right hook from his wife."The clip, widely shared on social media, appeared to show an awkward moment between the couple , sparking speculation about a possible dispute. Read full story How Rohit Sharma's poor form with the bat is hurting Mumbai Indians' IPL 2025 campaign Rohit's overall numbers in IPL 2025 have been modest at best — 329 runs from 13 games at an average of 27.42, including three half-centuries. Crucially, 199 of those runs came in just three innings during MI's six-match winning streak, where he struck scores of 76* (vs CSK), 70 (vs SRH), and 53 (vs RR). Outside of those knocks, he has contributed only 130 runs in 10 innings, with scores like 0, 8, 13, 17, 18, 26, 12, 5 and 7 hurting MI's top-order stability. Read full story
