Mumbai is in Danger

Whether you call it Bombay or Mumbai, recent reports suggest that by 2018 most of the city will be under water on a daily basis as and when there is a high tide.

Earlier this scenario had been predicted for the year 2090 but recent measurements of increase in sea level from global warming effect suggest that the flooding will happen much sooner than expected.

Wanton destruction of mangroves, reclamation of land and thoughtless development will ensure that most of the prime property will be under water in the next 10 years or so.

High tide measurements suggest that water levels during high tides have risen rapidly by 30 cm in just 3 years. If this trend continues Mumbai (Bombay) will be under water every day beginning as early as 2012. Strom water drains that are designed to take water away from the city are already flowing in the reverse direction. And if it rains, water will continue to remain on land flooding it because storm water drains will need to be closed to prevent sea water entering the island city.

But the powers that be will continue to sleep over this problem till it becomes impossible to manage. Vinod Khanna's of the world will continue to buy property at 1,28,000 per square feet oblivious of the fact that the building they are buying property in is soon going to be marooned.

Politicians will continue to flout all environmental protection laws to fill their own pockets.

And then one day, all will be lost under water.

But we will continue to live till that day in collective amnesia of the impeding problem. We will find comfort in the fact that there are almost 20 million of us who are facing the same problem and someone will definitely do something before the issue becomes unmanageable.

Well good luck to all of us.

Waiting for another disaster to happen

The government of Maharashtra and in particular the local government of Mumbai city is waiting for another disaster to happen before it really wakes up to take some concrete decisions.

Check this Disaster Management Plan http://mdmu.maharashtra.gov.in/pages/Mumbai/mumbaiplanShow.php to find out why the plan is just a lot of fluff and no solution.

There is no mention as to what people should do in the event of another 26th July 2005 happens to Mumbai again (believe me it is more likely to happen again and again).

The reason why Mumbai is a disaster waiting to happen is that the unholy nexus of politicians, builders and underworld have come together to create a concrete jungle that has usurped all available spaces and flouted all laws of planned development.

If you read the DMP you will find that the authorities are planning and depending on a working electricity and telephone network, while each one of us knows how these two basic pillars of disaster management collapsed during the deluge of Mumbai.

There is no mention of satellite phones, emergency power generation, storage of emergency food stock, both raw and prepared ready for distribution. But then you really can not blame the people here what with a nation as big as America failing in the wake of Katrina!

Dear City Fathers,
Please read and study the Katrina disaster and learn your lessons from there. Call for the program broadcast by National Geographic to find out why America Failed in Handling Katrina. Do it now, there is no time left and modify the disaster management plan accordingly.


This is all that I can hope and pray for.

Meanwhile here are some important people who may help bail you out

Shri. K. S. Vatsa
Secretary Relief & Rehabilitation,
502, Main Building,
Mantralya
Mumbai - 400 032
INDIA
Tel. No. - +91 022 22025274
Email - sec_r&r@maharashtra.gov.in

Maharashtra Disaster Management Unit
Earthquake Rehabilitation Cell,
14th Floor,
New Administrative Building,
Mumbai - 400 032
INDIA
Tel. No. - +91 022 22831984.

Flood Infoline
Tel. No. - +91 022 22040800
- +91 022 22040804