Mumbai rains

Come monsoon and Mumbai’s overburdened suburban rail system is overwhelmed when rainwater floods its tracks. This year, the Central, Western and Harbour lines were the worst hit, with trains running at 30-minute intervals, when they ran at all. Commuters like Sanjay Garg, 32, who are totally dependent on the suburban service to commute to and from work, were forced to take two days of unpaid leave, as heavy rains brought mobility to a complete halt. Sharing his anger and agony were literally millions of Mumbaikars. The only ones who enjoyed the ‘holiday’ were students as schools had to shut down.…

Fifty-six-year-old Seema Adgaonkar glides through swampy mangroves in ankle-deep muck. The fragrance of Avicennia marina (the grey mangrove), the most widely-spread mangrove species in Mumbai, makes the trail pleasant despite the 36 degree Celsius hot and humid conditions. Adgaonkar relishes the scent as she walks in a single file with a forest guard and two helpers, towards one of the mangrove nurseries they set up on the city’s coastline. She gives the team instructions on where to plant saplings along the course and shares tips to identify some of the species with their regional and scientific names. “You’ve to know everything that…

ON JUNE 18th, Upper Vaitarna, one of the few lakes that provide water to Mumbai, hit zero. Appeals of saving water trickled across the city and the Brihanmumbai Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) assured citizens that it would dip into its safety stock in other lakes. When monsoon finally arrived, it came with the decade’s highest 24-hour rainfall. Mumbai was flooded; trains, buses and flight services disrupted; and 32 people dead.   But no one was surprised. “It happens every year. A couple of days ago we barely had any water and now the city is waterlogged,” Prashant Patil, a resident of…

A misguided water policy, rapid unfettered urbanisation, lack of vision and a growth model characterized by indiscriminate greed is killing Mumbai and depriving the city of its basic right to quench its thirst. The 1.2 crore residents of the megapolis currently face a 10 percent water cut, effective since November 15, 2018. Mumbai is no stranger to water cuts but the rationing started much earlier this year than in previous years, months before the scorching summers were due to set in. This was to make up for the less rainfall this year. The city received 13.13 million litres of surface…

It seemed like a bright sunny day. A working woman in her late thirties, left Powai for Matunga by Uber at 7.30 a.m. The route normally takes 45 minutes. But yesterday it took a little longer than usual, around 75 minutes. The rain gods had by then showcased a trailer of what was going to be an adventurous day. Even then, never had I thought that I would return to the cosy comfort of my home only after more than 24 hours! As a Mumbaikar, you can feel the vibe when rain, or for that matter anything, rises above the…