Sir — This refers to the editorial, “India’s drowning glory” (September 1). Mumbai isn’t alone in its predicament. Our cities, especially the metros, are extremely vulnerable to such outbursts of nature. As Mumbai teeters on the brink of a disaster, Kolkata has barely been able to scrape through an angry monsoon.
The recent flood in Bihar or Chennai flood in 2015 all tell the same story. The country’s Information Technology capital Bengaluru too, had witnessed flooding in mid-August, unable to withstand severe pummeling. Vote politics has contributed to haphazard growth, over populated cities and unplanned construction work, which expose people and assets to rain damage in city after city.
With natural water bodies and wetlands fast disappearing, the scope of soaking up excess water and replenishing underground aquifer has significantly shrunk. The defining attribute of nature is its unpredictability, but dig deeper and the systemic faults of cities, aggravated by greed and ignorance will surface.