BMC blames everyone but itself for Mumbai rain mess in report, denies IMD alert

Maximum city witnessed large-scale loss of life and property in a massive rain and heavy flooding that followed last month.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has everyone to blame for the aftermath of Mumbai rains except itself. In a report filed over the mess created due to heavy rains, the BMC has pinned the blame on everyone except itself, practically giving itself a clean chit.

While Mumbaikars cursed the BMC for its management of crisis that was witnessed due to heavy rains, 300mm, on August 29 followed by massive flooding and loss of lives, the civic agency has blamed everyone, including the India Meteorological Department and railways, but has refused to take up any blame or responsibility. "The IMD failed to issue a warning well in advance. The Doppler Radar was also not functioning. The radar is used to predict wind direction, velocity and precipitation etc to determine any inclement weather conditions," the report said. It added that there was no alert sounded by the agency, a claim that officials of the IMD have refuted.

Scientists from Pune office of the IMD had confirmed to OneIndia earlier that an alert was indeed issued to the state government as well as Mumbai's civic municipal corporation. Not willing to spare the railways as well, the BMC report accuses central railways of mismanagement. "Central Railways couldn't coordinate well to manage the waterlogging situation and the disaster cell had also failed to act," the report pins the blame on the central railway for waterlogging on tracks that left lakhs of Mumbaikars stranded.

The BMC report has not spared the traffic department as well but has refused to acknowledge its own shortcomings in terms of incomplete projects, restructuring of stormwater drains, circuit houses/pumphouses to clear water from waterlogged areas and most importantly, the lack of preparedness for monsoon fury.

The Mumbai deluge left at least 20 people dead with buildings coming crashing down. One of the deceased included a doctor who slipped into a manhole on a waterlogged area. The IMD, on Sunday, issued a fresh alert of heavy rains in the Mumbai and Konkan region for the next three days. The BMC perhaps won't miss this alert at least this time around.

OneIndia News