The skies were literally black and water had seeped in the ground floors of offices all over. Something was horribly wrong. The huge, huge traffic jams, going towards the suburbs and the empty road going the other way beckoned instead.
But I'm sure many many of us have friends and relatives of ours in this beautiful place called Mumbai whom we could have chosen to stay with - had we known the situation was so bad and many more would have stayed put in their offices - again if they had an inkling they would have to spend the night in cars and buses.
But information, which is so very plentiful was just not there, this season...
Whether bureau
I agree that weather forecasting is not an exact science but our met department has such a bad record that had they actually announced "heavy rains expected" no one would even have believed them.
Still, just a simple early warning system that monitors the amount of rainfall by the hour and the flooding situation in about 10 key problem areas could easily be set up. Once the mm of rain and / or water levels rise above a particular danger level the information could be broadcasted over FM, cellular networks and TV.
Now the problem with this is there could be false alarms - logon ko ghar jaane ka bahaana mil gaya, some khadoos bosses might say. But the only other option is jaise chal raha hai - 'bhagwaan bharose' .
Excuses rain down
The most maddening part was Vilasrao Deshmukh (the then CM) coming on TV and laying all the blame on nature. What about the garbage situation? The desilting of drainage pipes - which never takes place?? Not to forget - miserable suburban town planning.
It takes less than half an hour of medium rainfall to turn the road outside Andheri station into a river of mock amazonian proportion...
Travelling to and fro - even on 'normal' days - is often a nightmare. It really doesn't take much for the whole system to collapse!
The Eternal divide
Restaurants were packed but otherwise things were normal in south Bombay. How, and why? Midday asked the question on many people's minds: Why did city float while suburbs sank?
The rains erased all class and economic differences. But the difference between south Mumbai and the suburbs remained stark.
While people from the suburbs were stranded or had to walk for hours to get home, for the lucky south Mumbai lot, home was only a short cab ride away. Why?
Of the many explanations given, the one which was most disturbing but at least partially true: The real reason is that the BMC and other agencies cannot afford to have the ministers and high-profile people living in south Mumbai inconvenienced.
Update, Jul 29, 2005: South Bombay received only 73.4 mm of rain so maybe all this analysis is crap - townies were simply lucky!
As reports poured in...
Star News had the most dedicated coverage, I thought, while NDTV scored a coup by pressing Gautam Singhania's helicopter into service to give aerial shots of affected areas.
Makes you wonder, given the competition between news channels, will a fleet of helicopters become as integral to Indian TV stations as OB vans are currently? That is, after all, the American way...
But getting back to the coverage, more than TV, the FM stations provided vital information and connections between people trying to reach each other. Because they had more 'micro' and more frequently updated information about the situation in specific areas - not just the broad picture. As a local medium rightly should.
FM also ruled because there was no electricity in large parts of the city. And with the mobile networks down, about the only useful thing one could do with the handset was tune into the radio!
Wonder though how many cells suffered 'death' by drowning... Despite 'waterproof' covers : )
No doubt, there should be early warning systems and there should be better forecasts. But cribbing about it is the easier way out, isn't it? Like most mumbaikars, waded thru the rainwater. Vileparle to Bandra and then Dadar west to Five gardens, to be exact. But what touched me was the impromptu help groups that were formed, out to help others.
Yes, our Government is extremely reactive and it needs to change, but why harp on the obvious? My point: we need to highlight the great work done by the ordinary people. They are the ones who make Mumbai what it is. Most mainstream media overlook the good news and highlight the bad, doing nothing to improve the situation. If there has to be bias (and I guess one can't remove it) I'd rather that it's on a positive side.
As for the systems, railways were up quickly, electricity was cut down to prevent electrocutions, FM was doing a wonderful job. So, there was method in the madness.
Also, statements like "it does't take much for the systems to collapse" are not really true. If you want to see a systems collapse, please make your way to Bangalore. But then, expectation is like amoeba growing exponentially with time, and wait increases expectations.
The biggest point of disagreement that I'd have is thing about the lack of a crisis situation in South Mumbai. But c'mon is it really the well maintained drainage system? Narayan's Rane's photographs that had recently moved from Sena posters to Congress', Cuff Parade suede buildings or their sueder inhabitants, that it did not flood in South Bombay because I do believe that more rain means more damage/chaos/helplessness versus less rains, all things remaining the same. It rained only 73mm in South Bombay, and 994mm in the suburbs. That's like 13 TIMES less. Who would you blame, the BMC worker fed on South Bombay money?
On an unrelated note, my deepest respect goes to people who helped others in the time of distress. And to those who survived to tell the tale:
The Day After
Yes, Mumbaikars were 'bouncing back' - but what choice is there? Mass emigration to Canada??
The newspapers are full of the Mumbaikar's 'never say die' spirit but as Amitabhji once said in that famous song from Mr Natwarlal : "Yeh jeena bhi koi jeena hai, lallu?"
There just may be some hope with younger politicians like Milind Deora at least having the guts to admit - on national television - that something is wrong.
But he is merely a Member of Parliament. Not a BMC worker...
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