The rains have come calling in full force, bringing our civic administration to it’s knees yet again. It is no fun to see the images on TV with knee/waist high water in most parts of Mumbai. The express highway is closed as well, and it almost seems like a rewind to July 2005. All the excuses given by the administrators also seem a re-hash of the last year.
The situation in Pune is no better, and riding/driving is fraught with danger every inch of the way. One can never gauge the depth of any water filled area, and a wrong judgement could lead to horrible consequences. All orthopaedics will again have to gear up to treat the numerous cases of injuries with broken bones along with severe back and neck pain.
These guys had a whole year to fix the problem. They should have made provisions for storm water drains, and finished all the road/telephone/electrical work by March. Instead, this unfinished repair work is now the biggest cause of the roads being clogged and overflowing with mud, waste and filth.
Secondly, there is never any co-ordination between the various agencies. One agency completes its work, after which PMC resurfaces the road. A few days later, another agency comes to do their work, digs up the road again. PMC resurfaces the roads again. A vicious cycle and a money making machine via tenders.
All stakeholders often fail to supervise the work to ensure they do it properly. This leads to worse problems, like inadvertently cutting internet/electricity cables/wires.
These civic administrators should take a grand tour of the city’s potholed roads to actually see the scenario due to their apathy. Whether this will actually filter through their thick skins / skulls is a moot point, however!
There should be a way for citizens to file a class action lawsuit against the errant contractors, corporators, and maybe even ministers, for this mess they’ve created.
