Thursday 31 August 2017

YOU and the Mumbai Floods!

The rains have subsided, the flood waters gone, our tempers cooled, we pick up our bags and return to work… till the next big downpour, till the next time Mumbai floods… and then we will begin yelling all over again!

But what else can we do? There is definitely much each of us can do!
- manage YOUR WASTE, a lot of garbage, especially plastic bags and sachets, disposed carelessly choke drains and causes flooding
- check YOUR COMPOUND, your housing society, is it allowing water to percolate into the ground or drain efficiently, or is the water from your compound also rushing into the streets and adding to the flooding
- look around YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD, does it have sufficient open spaces that soak up water and hence prevent flooding, fight to preserve these open spaces  
- get active in YOUR WARD, join together with others and ensure that the BMC is doing its job on a daily basis and that basic system – like storm water drainage – are working
- it’s YOUR FIGHT, don’t leave the fight only to NGOs and activists, get involved in issues, especially to save our forests, mangroves, rivers and open spaces that play a critical role in flood control

If you simply shrug your shoulders and carry on with “life as usual”, know that the next time Mumbai floods, it’s as much YOUR FAULT as that of the BMC!