After every couple of hours of heavy monsoon showers, India gets shuddered by the top headlines of deaths, injuries, damages, and water logging in the areas. Citizens read about the dirty, foul -smelling forth covering the lake of Bangalore, and other times the news of electrocuted deaths make it to the top headlines. All these “tragic incidents” raise a big question mark on the drainage pattern of the country.
Big cities like Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, and Delhi have reported major losses after monsoon showers. As of now, the death toll from rain-related incidents during the monsoon season has reached 11 in Delhi alone.
Rain Havoc Resulted in Massive Loss in Delhi
Delhi has witnessed multiple building collapse incidents attributed to heavy rainfall during the monsoon season. Additionally, a wall collapse at a construction site in Vasant Vihar resulted in the deaths of three labourers. This incident was part of a series of rain-related collapses that have occurred due to the torrential rains impacting the region.
In addition to the wall collapse, there was a significant incident where a canopy at Delhi’s airport partially collapsed, causing one death and several injuries.
According to the reports, Delhi has faced torrential rains, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reporting substantial precipitation in recent weeks. For instance, on a single day, the city recorded 228.1 mm of rainfall, marking the highest for June since 1936.
Waterlogging has been reported in several regions, including Burari, Model Town, and various low-lying areas. The rains have caused localised flooding, leading to road closures and significant traffic disruptions.
Meanwhile, the Delhi traffic police issued advisories due to waterlogging, particularly on major roads like Syama Prasad Mukherjee Marg, where traffic was severely affected. Commuters were advised to take alternative routes to avoid congestion caused by flooded roads.
The ‘Drainage Master Plan’ for Delhi was prepared by the experts from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi; it was submitted to the state government in 2017 but was turned down in 2021 by the government’s expert committee for being “too theoretical,” and ever since then there has been no proper drainage system to tackle the heavy water logging during monsoon.
The question of rejuvenating the drainage system of the city stands still with citizens facing challenges due to rain.
On July 22, 2024, a tragic incident occurred in Delhi when Nilesh Rai, a 26-year-old UPSC aspirant, was electrocuted while trying to cross a waterlogged road in the Patel Nagar area. His body was found clung to an iron gate, which had become live with electric current due to the hazardous conditions created by the heavy rains.
Another incident unfolded at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport’s Terminal 1 on June 28 where a portion of a canopy at the airport collapsed, crushing a person to death. The deceased, identified as 45-year-old Ramesh Kumar, was an Uber cab driver for ‘pick and drop’ services at the airport. The collapse happened amid the heavy rainfall while Ramesh was waiting in his cab for passengers.
There have been incidents where common citizens have faced challenging situations during rain and poor drainage systems. The peril faced by them has caused hindrance in their daily chores.
Delhi’s New Delhi Railway Station experienced severe water logging due to heavy rainfalls this monsoon, causing major disruptions for commuters. Commuters have to walk through knee-deep water carrying children to navigate the flooded roads leading to the station.
Farhan Jafry, a resident of Prayagraj, came to Delhi on July 25, and to his surprise, he found knee-deep water near the New Delhi Railway station. His cab was about to break down in the middle of the artificial ocean created by the monsoon of Delhi.
“All my eyes could see was water; I was stuck there for 2 hours; my cab was about to stop,” Jafry told FoEJ Media.
In June, the city faced heavy traffic jams and hindrances in metro services. The movements of trains were stopped at the Hazrat Nizamuddin because of waterlogging, and in another incident, trains were stopped at Safdarjung railway station due to waterlogging.
Four Dead as Rain Causes Havoc in Pune
The drainage system in big cities like Pune and Mumbai is no less worse than Delhi. Due to the bad drainage system, there have been tragic incidents of deaths in both cities, respectively.
On July 25, three men died in Pune from electrocution in the Deccan Gymkhana area while attempting to move their submerged handcart. The victims were identified as Abhishek Ghanekar (25), Akash Mane (21), and Shiv Parihar (18). They were trying to shift their food cart when they came into contact with an electric current caused by flooding.
In another incident, an individual in Pune died in a landslide in the Tahmini Ghat section of Mulshi Tehsil. The victim was identified as Shivaji Motiram Bahirat (30), who was working at a local eatery.
Meanwhile, areas such as Sinhagad Road, Bavdhan, Baner, and Deccan Gymkhana have experienced extensive flooding, affecting residential societies and prompting evacuations by the Pune Municipal Corporation.
Reportedly, 3,000 citizens have been shifted to temporary shelters in Pune, with the Pune civic body issuing an alert for citizens living in low-lying areas along the banks of the Pavana and Mula rivers that pass through the civic limits.
Amidst the waterlogging, cases of dengue and malaria have emerged in the city Pune. The combination of stagnant water due to flooding and the prevailing monsoon conditions has created an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes, heightening the risk of these vector-borne diseases.
However, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has initiated measures to monitor and control mosquito breeding sites.
Nafeesa Pathan, a resident of Wadgoan Sheri Baji Mandi, Pune, told FoEJ Media over a phone interview that cases of dengue and chikungunya have emerged in her vicinity. She told Foej Media that most of the people in her area belong to poor families and are unable to get proper treatment due to financial constraints.
“Cases of dengue and chikungunya are there due to water logging,” Pathan said.
“The water logging issue did not vanish overnight; water logging happened on July 25 and vanished on July 27,” she added.
People Died, Flights Cancelled, Train Services Hit, Car Submerged in Mumbai
Heavy lashes have hit Mumbai and its surrounding areas since last month, resulting in widespread waterlogging disturbances in the lives of citizens, resulting in deaths as well.
On July 27, one person was killed, two injured, one feared trapped, and around 50 were rescued after a three-story building collapsed in Navi Mumbai’s Shahbaz village.
Videos of people submerged in water till their waists and cars lined up bumper to bumper on Mumbai roads are making the rounds on the internet.
Visuals of train services between Kasara and Titwala stations in Thane district were suspended after soil covered the tracks between Atgaon and Transit stations, disrupting rail traffic on the busy Kalyan-Kasara route.
Why does the situation in Mumbai become grim every year?
The areas in Mumbai are mostly reclaimed land, i.e., created by filling in the sea to connect several islands. This has resulted in some parts of the city being low-lying and others being higher. During heavy rains, water from higher areas flows into lower areas, causing flood-like situations.
Meanwhile, the old drainage system is inefficient in handling the rainwater in Mumbai. The drainage system was built about 140 years ago, with the population of Mumbai half that of today.The recurring issues highlight the urgent need for modernising and expanding drainage infrastructure to mitigate future damage. The ongoing struggles with waterlogging and inadequate drainage serve as a reminder of the pressing need for proper urban planning and disaster management strategies to safeguard India’s cities against the increasingly severe effects of climate change.
