Mumbai: Tired of the consistent water-logging outside Prabhadevi railway stations, citizens have now demanded a time-bound action plan to resolve the issue. A civic group has alleged that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Western Railways have failed to solve this issue even though the citizens have been highlighting it for the last six years.
On Monday, heavy rains brought Mumbai to a standstill as multiple parts of the city suffered water-logging. Several parts of central Mumbai continued to flood like every year, sparking outrage among people. The area outside Prabhadevi railway station was one of the areas which saw water-logging on Monday morning with knee-deep water, choked drains, floating garbage and unbearable stench.
Residents expressed resentment over the flooding outside the railway station as they reiterated their six-year-old demand of bringing an end to the water-logging. Civic group Chakachak Dadar wrote to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday urging his intervention in this issue.
It alleged that there has been no lasting solution from BMC and Western Railway even though they have been raising this issue since the last six years. It alleged that the BMC claims the area falls under railways’ purview, while the railway cites jurisdictional limitations.
The civic group demanded immediate coordination between the BMC and Western Railways to identify jurisdiction and assign clear accountability and prepare a time-bound action plan to resolve this issue with a weekly progress update.
It also demanded a permanent engineering solution to the drainage and flooding issue outside Prabhadevi Station and public disclosure of all funds allocated and spent over the past six years for drainage and monsoon preparedness in this area.
Chetan Kamble, the founder of Chakachak Dadar, said, “This is an anguished outcry from countless citizens who continue to suffer year after year due to the utterly unacceptable and recurring issue of waterlogging. While both the BMC and railways continue to engage in an endless blame game, citizens are left to wade through sewage water, risk disease, miss work, and endure a public health hazard, which is nothing short of a civic disgrace. This is not just administrative failure but willful negligence."
