From left to right: DM
Sukhtankar, Cyrus Guzder, Teesta Setalvad,
Titoo Ahluwalia, Rahul Bose
Complete collapse of Governance in
Maharashtra
The deluge in Mumbai
and its environs on July 25 and 26 may have been an act of nature. But
the shocking incompetence of the state government and the total lack of
coordination among the administration, civic and police officials alone
is to be blamed for the incalculable loss of precious human lives and
property.
To
draw public attention to these measures that are crying to be
undertaken, Citizens for Justice and Peace organised a press conference
on Tuesday, August 2, 2005 at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh in
Mumbai. The well-attended press conference was addressed by Mr. Cyrus
Guzder (Trustee, CJP), Mr. D.M. Sukhthankar (former Municipal
Commissioner, Mumbai and former chief secretary, Government of
Maharashtra), Mr. Titoo Ahluwalia (Trustee, CJP), Rahul Bose (Film
Actor), Teesta Setalvad (Secretary, CJP), Dolphy D’Souza (President,
Bombay Catholic Sabha), Sumita Kulkarni (Sr. Manager, Child Relief and
You-- CRY), and Chayyabehn Megear (President, All India
Human Rights Citizens Option).
The following is the
press release issued at the press conference
PRESS
RELEASE
Mumbai city, Raigad
District, many other parts of the Konkan and now other parts of
Maharashtra have received exceptional rainfall on 26 July 05 and for
almost a week there after. Since the last two days the overflow of the
Koyna and other dam have plunged other areas of the state into crises.
However, within a
few hours of the initial cloudburst on 26 July, when the first 20-25 cms.
may have fallen, large parts of the city, including its major road
arteries, railway corridors, the Airport and large tracts of residential
areas, became severely waterlogged. Not only was there large damage to
property, dislocation of civic life and unimaginable loss of life. The
waterlogging of the city and its environs, the interruption of power
supply and telecommunication and the loss of life continued well into
the 6th day after the first downpour.
Several questions
need to be posed to government. Citizens across the city, at all income
levels and cutting across all professions and occupations, are outraged
at the government’s indifference and callousness in its failure to
answer them, as also at the incompetence and lack of coordination in
dealing with the effects of the city’s flooding.
The questions are:
1. Why does the city
become waterlogged – to the extent of completely dislocating all civic
life – within the first few hours of a heavy downpour? (Such downpours
will occur in every monsoon. The government is deluding itself by saying
that this is a once in a century disaster).
2. Why , when for 24
hours, citizens had to endure danger and hardship of waiding through 45
feets of water – much of it filthy- was no policemen, fire brigade
officials or man of the city administration visible to guide ordinary
mumbaikars?
3. Surronding areas
of Mumbai like Mumbra, Kalyan, Ambernath and Badlapur apart from
villages in Raigad, Roha and other Konkabn districts have homes of
peoples under water for over a week. Why has Army has not been sought to
airlift marooned persons and/or reach food packets, water and medicines
to persons under distress in these areas?
4. Why has the
government, which includes all wings and agencies of the state and
central governments and the municipal corporations, done so little to
relieve the hardships of the citizens during this period? (Garbage not
cleared: drains not de-clogged; animal carcasses not removed; traffic
police absent or helpless; electricity not available in large parts of
Greater Mumbai for four-six days after the initial blackout, etc.)
5. Why were the
sluice State of dams at Badlapur/Kalyan opened twice on Wednesday night
(July 27th, 2005) and thereafter without evacuation of
residents at Diva, Kusa, and Mumbra? (Over 150 are fear dead because of
this lapse) (Chiplun town on the Konkan coast has been submerged in 15
feet of water since last night after the Konkan dam overflow)
6. Why was the
Maharashtra Government’s well-publicised “Disaster Management Plan” not
put into action immediately, i.e., on 26th evening when a
crisis group had apparently met with the C.M. to discuss the alarming
situation in Raigad?
7. Why did neither
the State Government, nor the Municipal Corporation, set up a Disaster
Management Team, headed by a single empowered individual – (Chief
Secretary, Municipal Commissioner, or even a Cabinet Minister) – to take
charge of the situation, coordinate all relief activities, brief the
press frequently everyday and use all channels of the media to
communicate directly with citizens?
This Press
Conference is being convened to place the issues before the public and
to propose a series of immediate, as well as medium to long term,
actions steps requires to be taken urgently, to prevent a recurrence of
such a disaster.
Among the demands of
our Group are the following:
1. Government must
take IMMEDIATE steps to bring relief to the doorstep of those who have
lost their homes, their means of livelihood and who are now without
drinking water and food; and are exposed to sickness and disease. Where
areas continue to be underwater, why has the government not taken action
to drop relief and food packets by air?
2. There is an
immediate danger of epidemics and water-borne diseases spreading, as
access is denied and animal carcasses and garbage remain uncleared. An
immediate operation “clean-up” should be carried out; and medical and
para-medical teams must be deployed to carry out mass inoculation and
distribution of basic drugs and medicine. By now government should have
pro-actively mobilised all NGOs to team up with municipal workers in the
badly affected areas.
3. The Chief
Minister should, without delay, nominate a senior person – (whether
senior bureaucrat or political leader of cabinet rank) – to coordinate
and lead the work of relief and rehabilitation; and restoration of all
services. He should brief the press twice a day; and address the public
at large day by day on the action being taken.
He should also be
available to interact with group of citizens everyday, at fixed times,
so as to receive direct feedback and ideas for better execution of the
operations.
4. Less urgent but
of absolutely critical importance are two further actions in the matter
of projects:
4.1 An urgent study
to be carried out by expert professionals on the city’s Drainage System;
and the Maharashtra Government to revive long pending projects proposed
by the World Bank to give Mumbai an effective Storm Water Drainage
System (Known as “Project Brimstoward”).
Such a study will
undoubtedly reveal that all the unplanned, and ill-planned construction
activities of the last two decades has severely interfered with, and
reduced the effectiveness of, the city’s drainage system.
Citizens will also
have to exert every possible pressure on the BMC early next year to
undertake a massive and effective operation to unclog the current drains
of the city before the next monsoon.
4.2 A number of
pending proposals to upgrade equipment and improve the technical
facilities and manpower in the India Meteorology Department at the
Colaba Observatory must be implemented. The State Government must
pressure the Government of India into sanction this expenditure so as to
improve to predictive capability of the I.M.D.
5. Finally, we
propose that a number of NGOs in the city join hands to prepare a WHITE
PAPER / CITIZENS’ REPORT on Mumbai’s Disaster Management Crises. For
this a series of public hearing will be held before a panel of
independent experts/retired judges of unimpeachable integrity. The
hearings will be held in public with the media present. The evidence
taken on record will form a document that will serve as a Citizens
Agenda for the City and State Government to act for the future
improvement of the civic infrastructure of Mumbai.
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