Mumbai: For Amitav Ghosh, the writer, his warning words came to tragic relevance when a huge billboard collapsed during strong thunderstorms and winds in Mumbai's Ghatkopar, killing 16 people and injuring numerous others. In his book ‘The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable’, published in 2016, Ghosh had warned of potential dangers of billboards in Mumbai, picturing them as “deadly projectiles” if a cyclone struck them.
Reflecting on his post-tragedy warning, Ghosh took to social media and said, “In The Great Derangement, I wrote that in the event of a major storm, 'the thousands of billboards that encrust' Mumbai would turn 'into deadly projectiles'."
The recent storm was nowhere near as damaging as a major cyclone would be. Mumbai really needs to cut back drastically on billboards,” he said, underlying the gravity of the situation.
Ghatkopar bill board collapsed amid dust storm
The incident occurred during a sudden dust storm with rain on Monday afternoon when a 120x120 foot billboard came crashing down on a petrol pump, leaving 16 people dead and more than 100 injured, 44 of whom are still admitted, one in critical condition, and 31 others discharged.
The civic authorities were in the line of fire when the billboards were deemed illegal and put up without any permission. An FIR has been registered against Bhavesh Prabhudas Bhide, the managing director of Ego India Pvt. Ltd. For putting up unauthorized hoarding. Bhide is already mired in cases, including a recent rape case, and faces another case of violation of the Mumbai Municipal Act pertaining to hosting unauthorized billboards.
