"Was sleeping when it rained", Uddhav Thackeray's sarcasm on Mumbai deluge

Mumbai is limping back to normalcy after being battered by deadly rains on Tuesday

"I was sleeping when it rained. Can you stop the rain?" was Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's response when asked about what he did as Mumbai was battered. Thackeray's Shiv Sena runs the city's municipal corporation that has received massive flak for its apathy.

Uddhav Thackeray chose to respond to a journalist's questions sarcastically when asked about what his party had done to help an inundated Mumbai. Initial estimates indicate that the deadly rains that Mumbai witnessed on Tuesday have flushed out civic works worth hundreds of crores, all thanks to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's apathy.

"There is a limit to how much one can confront and fight nature. The mayor, Shiv Sena MLAs staff of BMC and BEST reached out to people during the crisis and helped those stranded, "said Uddhav Thackeray who lost his cool when a journalist asked what he was doing as Mumbai battled the rains.

BMC that is led by the Shiv Sena currently was blamed for the lack of preparedness and pushing the maximum city to maximum desperation. many storm water drain projects that should have been completed by now are stuck in red-tapism despite hundreds of crores already spent on them.

For over a decade now, the BMC has depended on pumping stations to flush out water from the city but the method is not enough. The suggestion of creating holding ponds in regions that are prone to receive heavy rainfall has been time and again ignored.

The Shiv Sena chief who was accompanied by Maharashtra minister for Industries Subhash Desai, Mumbai's mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation commissioner Ajoy Mehta said that 6 to 8 million litres of water were pumped out from pumping stations in the city in a single day.

Now, the BMC will begin setting up health camps to stop the spread of an epidemic. Make shift camps will be set up with complete medical care staff, equipment and supplies. Cleaning of the city will be taken up in full vigour as health experts have warned of the spread of diseases.

OneIndia News