No easy fix to flooding in urban India

In the second of a four-part series, HT decodes why civic administrations fail to deliver on basic indicators of livability to ensure clean, unclogged and walkable cities

- Shivani Singh

Parts of Bengaluru were knee-deep in rainwater during the pre-monsoon downpour in mid-May. The rains hit Mumbai a week earlier than scheduled, and flooded its new metro station, and halted the train service. Since the season's onset, Delhi's waterlogged roads have led to perpetual traffic snarls and sewage backflows. Gurugram has lived up to the moniker #Gurujam, offering spectacles of marooned gated communities and inspiring comparisons with Venice on social media.

However shocking, these scenes now evoke a feeling of déja vu. In the last two decades since the Mumbai flood, caused by a 100-year-high rainfall and killing more than 1,000 people in 2005, there has been no respite for Indian cities from inundation, monsoon after monsoon.

Experts say there is no quick fix for flooding triggered by short bouts of intense rain due to climate change. While such events will continue to overwhelm the civic infrastructure, which has its physical limits and capacities, there is little excuse for not doing the basics right, which go a long way in monsoon preparedness.

Predicting an uncertain climate future is often challenging, but looking back at how we have planned, designed, and maintained our cities can offer vital cues for course correction.

Lessons from urban ‘development’

When the British decided to move the imperial capital from Calcutta (Now Kolkata) to Delhi, the architects were reluctant to go with the earmarked Coronation Park site in Burari because it was too close to the floodplain. Ultimately, the higher ground on Raisina Hill was selected. Ironically, much of the urbanisation post-Independence has happened in the floodplain, which naturally attracts floodwaters.