Mumbai's monsoon woes

Want to enjoy a roller coaster ride without going to an amusement park? Then Mumbai is the place for you. All you need to do is sit in any vehicle and your roller coaster ride begins, courtesy Mumbai Municipal Corporation. It has roller coasters spread all over the city on the roads in the form of potholes. And if you are lucky, on a rainy day you could also experience a little bit of water park.Every year, crores of rupees spent on reinforcing and repairing of roads just get washed away down the drain as rains lash the city. Citizens complain they don't want to make the roller coaster ride a daily routine. After all, one cannot have fun all the while. Whenever there is a respite from the downpour, the civic authorities start mending the roads again, spending huge amounts. But the roads get damaged when it rains again. The authorities are shifting from asphalt to concrete roads as a permanent solution to the problem. But progress is slow due to inadequate finances. At crossings, authorities are laying down tiles to help vehicles brake effectively. Till every inch of the 1800-km stretch of roads in the city is converted into concrete paths and indiscriminate digging stopped Mumbaikars will continue to get roller coaster rides at no cost - the cost of vehicle damages, repairs and occasional visits to orthopaedic consultant not included. Though monsoon creates much havoc (with, of course, full co-operation from civic authorities), Mumbaikars eagerly await good rainfall. At least they need not worry about water shortage. As I had mentioned earlier in this diary, Mumbaikars eagerly wait for particular news around July-August. They received it last week: one of the major lakes supplying water to the city has started overflowing and the levels of others are increasing rapidly. However, this is not enough. While the authorities are supplying three billion litres of water daily, the city's requirement is four billion litres. The shortfall of one billion litres remains despite water supply being cut down to many shanty localities, slums and old building. The situation in the next 20 years will be worse with growing population and increasing demand for water. To overcome the problem, civic authorities launched a movement for rainwater harvesting (RWH) this monsoon. Builders and residents of new buildings are compelled to create RWH facilities. Many organisations have started organising seminars, awareness campaigns etc for RWH. It is for the common Mumbaikar to understand its importance and more importantly not allow it to die down as yet another fancy idea. Generally, the monsoon brings relief, but some dread it too. The fishermen community in Mumbai is one such class. Their fishing activity is stopped during these four months. Some fishermen who have ventured into the choppy sea have been trapped and lost. The government has banned fishing during monsoon. Though fishing is banned in the state, there is no ban on selling fish. Now, with fish brought other states being sold to Mumbaikars at a premium, the fishermen community have decided to launch an agitation. They claim that they have modern trawlers, which should be allowed to sail in the sea even during the monsoon. If such agitations become common every year, the fish-loving Mumbaikars may opt for creating a small pond in their buildings for fish breeding. They will even petition to the civic authorities to compel this practice in new buildings. Just like RWH.