‘Public caused clogged drains’

Mumbai: Despite the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) tall claims about adequate nullah cleaning, the city witnessed heavy flooding during the first major showers last week. However, the Shiv Sena, the ruling party in the civic body, has refused the take responsibility for this. Instead, it has accused the public for its lack of civic sense, saying that even after cleaning drains, citizens are seen dumping garbage into it.

In the civic standing committee, the opposition corporators made a scathing attack on the ruling Shiv Sena and the civic administration over the flooding in the first major rains in the city. The water logging took place due to poor nullah cleaning work, they alleged. However, Sena corporators said that nullahs in the city were choking not because of BMC’s lack of pre-monsoon preparedness but because people are throwing garbage in nullahs even after desilting was carried out.

“Despite crore of rupees being spent on pre-monsoon work of nullah cleaning, Mumbaikars have to face flooding in the city. This year, the ruling party and civic administration had claimed that water logging will not take place due to adequate desilting works. However, during the first rains itself, Mumbaikars faced inconvenience due to flooding at several places,” said Ravi Raja, the opposition leader.

However, the Sena blamed the people for choking nullahs. Senior party corporator Ramesh Korgaonkar said, “The BMC carries out nullah cleaning works properly before every monsoon. However, within hours people are seen dumping garbage again into the nullahs.

The opposition corporators are blaming the BMC for flooding, but they were absent when the mayor and civic officials were making visits to supervise the nullah cleaning works.”