Taking cognizance of the situation, the residents of Mumbai have alleged that South Mumbai has never experience waterlogging like this before in the past during the monsoons in Mumbai.
Equipped with an efficient drainage system, amidst the downpour in Mumbai, places like Oval Maidan, Marine Drive, and Girgaum Chowpatty were completely inundated as water entered several housing societies located in these areas.
Moreover, places like Fort, Churchgate, Breach Candy, Pedder Road, which usually do not get waterlogged were flooded. There were power disruptions in these areas and, in a rare unfortunate instance, water also made its way into heritage buildings near Oval Maidan, Churchgate, also the UNESCO World Heritage site, and the Marine Drive.
The residents of the city have heavily blamed the construction of the Metro 3 (Colaba-Seepz) and Coastal Road projects for the current flooding situation in Mumbai. Moreover, environmentalists and town planners have alleged that destruction of the mangroves and unplanned constructions have further lead to the flooding. Mangroves, which soak the excess water, is being destroyed in Mumbai in the guise of infrastructural development.
The Mangrove Society of India (MSI) has raised similar concerns. In its 2019 report, the MSI stated that 75 cases of mangrove destruction have been reported on Maharashtra’s coastline, of which the maximum share is of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
The high-intensity rain and thunder accompanied by high-speed winds reaching up to 70 kmph and occasionally gusting to over 100 kmph were witnessed in South Mumbai on Wednesday evening. This wind speed is equivalent to the post-landfall effect of Severe Cyclonic Storm Nisarga (90-100 kmph) which was recorded in Mumbai on June 3.
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