An Appeal to Save Mumbai from Floods or Water Logging
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View Photos / Pictures of Battered ... Mumbai survives Sun, Aug 07, 2005
MUMBAI has survived to tell the tale of Terrible Tuesday, July 26, 2005, when it broke the world record of rain in 24 hours.
In the 24-hour period from 8.30 a.m. July 26 to 8.30 a.m. July 27, the city's suburbs " which now house the majority of its population " received an incredible 944.2 mm (94.42 cm) of rain, exceeding the record set by Cherapunjee of 833 mm (83.3 cm) in 1910. Much of this fell within a 12-hour period that also coincided with the high tide. The result was devastation on a scale unknown even to this monsoon-scarred city.
In the worst affected areas, as each day dawned, there was no electricity, no water, the streets were piled with garbage and carcasses of animals and phones did not work.
Why did it flood?
But once the rains stop and the water recedes, we have to ask: was our fortitude worth it in the face of what seems a paralysed and indifferent administration? And why did Mumbai flood? Was it only the coincidence of exceptionally heavy rains and the high tide?
It was more than just these two factors. One of the areas in the city most severely affected was Kalina, an area close to the airport and just off the Western Express Highway that leads out of the city to Ahmedabad. It is adjacent to the Mithi river, now no more than a dirty polluted nallah but once a river that was used for transport and fishing. The river flows from the lakes in Mumbai's hinterland to the sea at Mahim, and separates what is called the island city, or south Mumbai, from the mainland or suburbs.
Today one/you would have a hard time thinking of this filthy stream as a river. It carries tonnes of industrial and municipal effluent and its width has been drastically reduced by construction debris dumped along its route. Worse yet, the river was diverted to make space for Mumbai's spanking new business district, the Bandra Kurla complex, despite strong objections from environmentalists.
Mumbai has had to pay the price for this flagrant indifference to the Mithi river that acted as a natural safety valve, carrying excess rainwater into the sea and absorbing seawater at times of high tide. Now it can do neither. So on July 26, when very heavy rain in the river's catchment area brought down a higher volume of water, and the high tide also tried to enter its mouth, the Mithi overflowed, carrying with it all the filth that had been dumped in it. As a result, areas along its route were worst affected, with water levels rising to 15 feet. The water rose so suddenly, that scores of people were caught off guard. People sitting in cars, thinking they were safe, drowned because they could not get out. In buses, people had to scamper to the top of the bus to escape the rising water. Many housing colonies saw ground floor flats being inundated. Those who were not quick enough, or could not swim, got sucked under the rising water.
The abuse of the Mithi river symbolises the problem that Mumbai faces. To satisfy the greed of builders and developers, successive governments have turned a blind eye to the natural checks and balances that cities need. Thus, the coastal regulation zone rules are violated, thereby changing the pattern of the tides. Green and no-development zones have been thrown open for development. Areas marked for parks and open spaces have been built upon. What little open space the city now has is just not enough to absorb heavy rain. Add to this an ancient drainage system. Funds for upgrading it sit in the government's coffers but are not used.
The story of July 26 is of neglect and inefficiency by the administration. More than 400 people died in Mumbai. This should never be repeated. But it will if the administration fails to learn from this disaster that the real tragedy is Mumbai's development model, one that cares little for nature or for ordinary people, one that thinks of gloss more than substance.
Mumbai's looming ecological disaster Tue, 2 Aug, 2005 (View Photos)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/4737153.stm
The rain shut down life and work in Mumbai
Why does a week of heavy monsoon rain kill more than 400 people, cause damage estimated at nearly $700m, and completely paralyse life in a bustling metropolis? The high tide also did not help matters. Mumbai's storm water drains are designed to shut during high tide.
Flyover project
This prevents tidal water from entering the city, but on very rainy days, it also prevents rainwater from draining out.
"But the water that collected in the city should have ebbed when the tide receded," says Bittu Sahgal, one of India's best-known writers on environmental issues.
"Why didn't that happen?"
Mr Sahgal blames the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, an ambitious flyover project that has come under fire from environmentalists for making ecological compromises.
The flyover crossing the sea, he says, has pinched the mouth of the Mithi River that drains most of Mumbai's excess water out into the Arabian Sea.
That's not all. The systematic destruction of about 1,000 acres of the city's mangrove cover - what's left, about 5,000 acres, is under threat - has deprived Mumbai of its natural flood-barrier and silt trap.
Large parts of the city are under water. Now rainwater washes silt into the bay, threatening to clog the city's deep natural harbour. "Ecologically unsound decisions have caused huge financial damage," says Mr Sahgal.
Mangroves cleared
Horror stories abound of urban welfare projects gone terribly awry. A World Bank-funded urban transport project has cut away hillsides, dumping debris on the city's wetlands. Mangroves have been cleared to build golf courses, amusement parks and rubbish dumps.
Building construction is planned even on 5,400 acres of salt pan land. "In the post-tsunami scenario, this is plain lunacy," says Debi Goenka, executive trustee of Conservation Action Trust, an environmental NGO.
The city's drainage system is in a mess. Experts say the historical process of reclaiming the sea to build the city is the cause of Mumbai's problems. In the 16th century, 95\% of today's Mumbai was under water, says Sheela Patel, director of Sparc, an NGO working on housing issues.
"We can't rectify what happened 100 years ago," admits Bittu Sahgal. "They didn't have the benefit of information that we do."
Drains choked
It's not just the "no-development zones" that have fallen prey to the frenzy of unplanned building. Successive state governments have signed off lands reserved for parks on the pretext of housing the poor.
Typically, 35-40\% of rainwater is absorbed by the land, lifting groundwater levels, but there are few open spaces left in Mumbai.
India has the lowest ratio of open space to people in the world - a mere four acres per 1,000 of population, compared to the global benchmark of 12 acres.
In Mumbai, this falls to a paltry 0.2 acres, and after accounting for slums, it diminishes to a measly 0.03 acres.
Unregulated development led to landslides
An unholy nexus between politicians and builders and unfettered development has brought the city to the brink of collapse, environmentalists say.
Mumbai's development plan is obsolete in the face of such unfettered urban growth, they allege. Thousands of tonnes of uncleared rubbish choke the city's 100-year-old storm water drains, which urgently need an overhaul.
And in a city where 88\% of commuters use public transport, governments spend a lot on flyovers and a pittance on upgrading creaky trains and buses.
'Urban collapse'
Environmentalists say the only city in the world with a quarter of its land area designated as a national park is on a suicide mission. Bittu Sahgal calls it "a case study for the collapse of urbania in India".
If Mumbai's unprecedented rainfall is an early warning of global warming and rising sea levels, the city will "become an island again, be it with rain water or sea water".
In the next 50 years, the storm drains that carry rainwater out of Mumbai could be bringing sea water in, even at low tide, Mr Goenka prophesies. "People should be moving out of Mumbai, not moving in," he says. "This city is a sinking ship."
Flights, trains cancelled Photo 30 Jun, 2007
Rain trapped Mumbai Photos Sat, Jun 30, 2007
As Mumbai goes under water Photo 1 Jul, 2007
Photo Gallery of Hindustan Times Sun, Jul 01, 2007
Power firms pull the plug 1 Jul, 2007
Rain creates havoc in Mumbai 1 Jul, 2007
Mumbai sinks again 1 Jul, 2007
Heavy rains lash Mumbai Photos Sat, Jun 30, 2007
Mumbai braces itself Photos Sun, Jul 01, 2007
Flights, trains and minister hit by rain Photos Sun, Jul 01, 2007
Conclusion: We the undersigned w.r.t. the above appeal to everyone concerned to kindly do the needful.
MUMBAI has survived to tell the tale of Terrible Tuesday, July 26, 2005, when it broke the world record of rain in 24 hours.
In the 24-hour period from 8.30 a.m. July 26 to 8.30 a.m. July 27, the city's suburbs " which now house the majority of its population " received an incredible 944.2 mm (94.42 cm) of rain, exceeding the record set by Cherapunjee of 833 mm (83.3 cm) in 1910. Much of this fell within a 12-hour period that also coincided with the high tide. The result was devastation on a scale unknown even to this monsoon-scarred city.
In the worst affected areas, as each day dawned, there was no electricity, no water, the streets were piled with garbage and carcasses of animals and phones did not work.
Why did it flood?
But once the rains stop and the water recedes, we have to ask: was our fortitude worth it in the face of what seems a paralysed and indifferent administration? And why did Mumbai flood? Was it only the coincidence of exceptionally heavy rains and the high tide?
It was more than just these two factors. One of the areas in the city most severely affected was Kalina, an area close to the airport and just off the Western Express Highway that leads out of the city to Ahmedabad. It is adjacent to the Mithi river, now no more than a dirty polluted nallah but once a river that was used for transport and fishing. The river flows from the lakes in Mumbai's hinterland to the sea at Mahim, and separates what is called the island city, or south Mumbai, from the mainland or suburbs.
Today one/you would have a hard time thinking of this filthy stream as a river. It carries tonnes of industrial and municipal effluent and its width has been drastically reduced by construction debris dumped along its route. Worse yet, the river was diverted to make space for Mumbai's spanking new business district, the Bandra Kurla complex, despite strong objections from environmentalists.
Mumbai has had to pay the price for this flagrant indifference to the Mithi river that acted as a natural safety valve, carrying excess rainwater into the sea and absorbing seawater at times of high tide. Now it can do neither. So on July 26, when very heavy rain in the river's catchment area brought down a higher volume of water, and the high tide also tried to enter its mouth, the Mithi overflowed, carrying with it all the filth that had been dumped in it. As a result, areas along its route were worst affected, with water levels rising to 15 feet. The water rose so suddenly, that scores of people were caught off guard. People sitting in cars, thinking they were safe, drowned because they could not get out. In buses, people had to scamper to the top of the bus to escape the rising water. Many housing colonies saw ground floor flats being inundated. Those who were not quick enough, or could not swim, got sucked under the rising water.
The abuse of the Mithi river symbolises the problem that Mumbai faces. To satisfy the greed of builders and developers, successive governments have turned a blind eye to the natural checks and balances that cities need. Thus, the coastal regulation zone rules are violated, thereby changing the pattern of the tides. Green and no-development zones have been thrown open for development. Areas marked for parks and open spaces have been built upon. What little open space the city now has is just not enough to absorb heavy rain. Add to this an ancient drainage system. Funds for upgrading it sit in the government's coffers but are not used.
The story of July 26 is of neglect and inefficiency by the administration. More than 400 people died in Mumbai. This should never be repeated. But it will if the administration fails to learn from this disaster that the real tragedy is Mumbai's development model, one that cares little for nature or for ordinary people, one that thinks of gloss more than substance.
Mumbai's looming ecological disaster Tue, 2 Aug, 2005 (View Photos)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/4737153.stm
The rain shut down life and work in Mumbai
Why does a week of heavy monsoon rain kill more than 400 people, cause damage estimated at nearly $700m, and completely paralyse life in a bustling metropolis? The high tide also did not help matters. Mumbai's storm water drains are designed to shut during high tide.
Flyover project
This prevents tidal water from entering the city, but on very rainy days, it also prevents rainwater from draining out.
"But the water that collected in the city should have ebbed when the tide receded," says Bittu Sahgal, one of India's best-known writers on environmental issues.
"Why didn't that happen?"
Mr Sahgal blames the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, an ambitious flyover project that has come under fire from environmentalists for making ecological compromises.
The flyover crossing the sea, he says, has pinched the mouth of the Mithi River that drains most of Mumbai's excess water out into the Arabian Sea.
That's not all. The systematic destruction of about 1,000 acres of the city's mangrove cover - what's left, about 5,000 acres, is under threat - has deprived Mumbai of its natural flood-barrier and silt trap.
Large parts of the city are under water. Now rainwater washes silt into the bay, threatening to clog the city's deep natural harbour. "Ecologically unsound decisions have caused huge financial damage," says Mr Sahgal.
Mangroves cleared
Horror stories abound of urban welfare projects gone terribly awry. A World Bank-funded urban transport project has cut away hillsides, dumping debris on the city's wetlands. Mangroves have been cleared to build golf courses, amusement parks and rubbish dumps.
Building construction is planned even on 5,400 acres of salt pan land. "In the post-tsunami scenario, this is plain lunacy," says Debi Goenka, executive trustee of Conservation Action Trust, an environmental NGO.
The city's drainage system is in a mess. Experts say the historical process of reclaiming the sea to build the city is the cause of Mumbai's problems. In the 16th century, 95\% of today's Mumbai was under water, says Sheela Patel, director of Sparc, an NGO working on housing issues.
"We can't rectify what happened 100 years ago," admits Bittu Sahgal. "They didn't have the benefit of information that we do."
Drains choked
It's not just the "no-development zones" that have fallen prey to the frenzy of unplanned building. Successive state governments have signed off lands reserved for parks on the pretext of housing the poor.
Typically, 35-40\% of rainwater is absorbed by the land, lifting groundwater levels, but there are few open spaces left in Mumbai.
India has the lowest ratio of open space to people in the world - a mere four acres per 1,000 of population, compared to the global benchmark of 12 acres.
In Mumbai, this falls to a paltry 0.2 acres, and after accounting for slums, it diminishes to a measly 0.03 acres.
Unregulated development led to landslides
An unholy nexus between politicians and builders and unfettered development has brought the city to the brink of collapse, environmentalists say.
Mumbai's development plan is obsolete in the face of such unfettered urban growth, they allege. Thousands of tonnes of uncleared rubbish choke the city's 100-year-old storm water drains, which urgently need an overhaul.
And in a city where 88\% of commuters use public transport, governments spend a lot on flyovers and a pittance on upgrading creaky trains and buses.
'Urban collapse'
Environmentalists say the only city in the world with a quarter of its land area designated as a national park is on a suicide mission. Bittu Sahgal calls it "a case study for the collapse of urbania in India".
If Mumbai's unprecedented rainfall is an early warning of global warming and rising sea levels, the city will "become an island again, be it with rain water or sea water".
In the next 50 years, the storm drains that carry rainwater out of Mumbai could be bringing sea water in, even at low tide, Mr Goenka prophesies. "People should be moving out of Mumbai, not moving in," he says. "This city is a sinking ship."
Flights, trains cancelled Photo 30 Jun, 2007
Rain trapped Mumbai Photos Sat, Jun 30, 2007
As Mumbai goes under water Photo 1 Jul, 2007
Photo Gallery of Hindustan Times Sun, Jul 01, 2007
Power firms pull the plug 1 Jul, 2007
Rain creates havoc in Mumbai 1 Jul, 2007
Mumbai sinks again 1 Jul, 2007
Heavy rains lash Mumbai Photos Sat, Jun 30, 2007
Mumbai braces itself Photos Sun, Jul 01, 2007
Flights, trains and minister hit by rain Photos Sun, Jul 01, 2007
Conclusion: We the undersigned w.r.t. the above appeal to everyone concerned to kindly do the needful.
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kindly save mumbai
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Christians are murderers with double standards, because they believe in robbing, terrorizing & murdering all non-christians, but forgiving, helping & pleasing all christians, to please jesus. Western-white-christians are r
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High time we sat up and took notice that if we don't mend our ways, we might destroy the environment and us with it!!
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Awake Ayala
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plz whtever u do smethin gud tht will benefit not only mumbai but also d earth
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india,maharashtra,thane,barabunglow
18 June 2014
89.
Zafar Duffy
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This city is going from bad to worse
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Navi Mumbai
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13 May 2014
87.
Martin B
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Dear sir/madam, I have recently become aware of the problems caused by logging in the region. I believe that whilst it may be beneficial to some large contractors to continue logging, the damage done to communities and the environ
30 April 2014
86.
Syed T
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An unholy nexus between politicians & builders & unfettered development has brought the city to the brink of collapse. The Mithi river was diverted to make space for Mumbai's spanking new business district, the Bandra Kurl
19 January 2014
31 July 2013
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Pankaj M
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Mumbaikar has nobody to blame but himself by voting in a government again and again on the claim of being non-communal. Most communal events have happened only during the time of present government. After more than 100 reports and
30 June 2013
18 January 2013
4 January 2013
81.
Sheenu A
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itz pathetic. evry rains this has 2 happens. cnt d govt. do somethng abt it???
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wat r v payin tax 4? shdnt v get sumthn in return
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31 December 2012
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Nida Dickerson
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The govt should look into this matter as many lives of people are affected.
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Krishnan T
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The builders and developers are only concerned about monetary gains and have no idea that they are destroying the environment by consuming every available land for construction activities. I wish that this appeal takes steam in th
11 November 2012
5 November 2012
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Lynn Lawrence
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Petition target:
The Hon'ble Supreme Court, President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Union Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF)
The Hon'ble Supreme Court, President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Union Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF)
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