Two prominent leaders in Mumbai, Aditya Thackeray and Ashish Shelar, have criticized the city’s civic authorities over extensive waterlogging that occurred on the first day of the monsoon season. Speaking at a press conference, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray accused the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) of corruption in the cleaning of drains and nullahs, as well as in the Rs 680-crore project for concretization of roads. He called the waterlogging situation shameful and stated that area residents were suffering due to the BMC’s failure to prevent flooding.
Meanwhile, Ashish Shelar, who is the president of Mumbai’s BJP and a member of the legislative assembly, also criticized the BMC for failing to prevent flooding in several parts of the city. He added that the BMC had not learned from past experiences and had failed to implement effective measures to avert waterlogging.
The statement from the two leaders came after heavy rains in Mumbai resulted in severe waterlogging in several areas of the city, leading to traffic congestion and disruption of daily life. Many residents took to social media to complain about the situation and to express their dissatisfaction with the BMC’s preparedness for the monsoon season.
This is not the first time that Mumbai has faced flooding during the monsoon season, and it is clear that the city’s authorities need to take more effective measures to deal with the situation. While efforts have been made in recent years to improve the city’s infrastructure, including the concretization of hundreds of kilometers of roads, there is still much work to be done to prevent such incidents from occurring.
It is important for civic authorities to take the views of residents and leaders seriously and to implement robust measures to prevent waterlogging and flooding. Ongoing corruption in the management of public funds must be dealt with decisively, and the BMC must be held accountable for any shortcomings in its preparations for the monsoon season.
