The rain in Mumbai goes mainly down the drain

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh, has asked officials from various bodies like BMC, police, Defense, railways, BEST to prepare Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for handling emergencies that are likely to occur during the upcoming 2007 Mumbai floods. But, with the monsoons just a fortnight away, Mumbaikars are wondering if this is too little too late. In other words, are these SOPs merely sops that will leave them sopping?

BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) is meanwhile fighting against the clock to get the city rivers and creeks desilted before the monsoons. They seem very optimistic of getting the job done before May 30th. Their optimism no doubt stems from their past experience at getting civic projects completed on schedule.

Their job was made a little easier by the fortuitous discovery of an Angrez ke zamaane ka storm water drain on Tulsi Pipe Road. During the slum demolition drive, BMC officials discovered a set of unused manholes which in turn led to finding a 100 year old storm drain built by the British.

This further proved that India clearly lags behind the USA, where a furnished 2BHK flat was found in a storm drain with TV, DVD and VCR. A team of Mumbai babus is set to tour San Diego to study this alternate housing solution for Mumbai's housing problems. A source in the BMC revealed that this is a very practical solution and is likely to be a problem only 3-4 months in a year.