Welcome to Mumbai, the city of dreams, opportunities, and, of course, billionaire row, where the monsoon season turns from a scenic spectacle into a logistical nightmare. The disparity between the city’s wealthy enclaves and its struggling neighbourhoods becomes starkly apparent as the rains expose the cracks in our infrastructure and urban planning.
Imagine the luxury of South Mumbai, where the wealthy sip their tea overlooking the Arabian Sea, blissfully unaware that just a few kilometers away, residents are navigating through the mixture of construction debris and rain water. If the suburban railways had handled this year’s monsoon as poorly as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) manages waterlogging, the city would grind to a halt. But Mumbaikars deserve better. We need a city that doesn’t just endure the monsoon but thrives despite it.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) recently reported that July dumped over 800 mm of rain on our fair city, transforming it into the wettest month of the year. Tragically, over 20 lives were lost to incidents like building collapses and electrocutions. Financial damage estimates are soaring into hundreds of crores, leaving us wondering if it’s the rain or the drainage systems that are stuck in a colonial time warp.
Every monsoon, the streets of Mumbai turns into a nightmare for the commuters due to construction garbage and temporary water-logging. Despite promises of pre-monsoon preparedness, the BMC finds itself in the same water-logged mess year after year. Roads become cratered death traps and half-finished buildings turn into threats worthy of a dystopian novel.
The socioeconomic divide in Mumbai becomes blatantly apparent during these downpours. While the wealthy zones like South Mumbai dry out relatively quickly, the suburbs and slums remain submerged, intensifying the inequality. In a heart-wrenching incident this July, seven people perished in the Kurla building collapse, a stark reminder of the city’s uneven spirit.
Clearly, Mumbai’s infrastructure needs more than a redecoration—it needs a heart transplant. Modernising the drainage system, enforcing rigid construction standards and enhancing green spaces to improve water absorption are not just suggestions; they’re lifelines.
So, while Mumbai’s status as the billionaire capital is secure, it’s time we redefined what that means in terms of urban planning. Should resilience mean tolerating annual misery, or can it evolve to signify sustainable growth? Let’s ensure that the monsoon is evidence to good urban design rather than a harbinger of doom. After all, even billionaires hate getting their feet wet.