As heavy monsoon rains lashed Mumbai on Monday, the city’s familiar flood zones — King’s Circle, Hindmata, and parts of south Mumbai — were once again submerged, despite civic claims of improved stormwater infrastructure.
The intense rainfall, coinciding with a high tide at 11:24 am, caused widespread waterlogging, with new trouble spots like Hutatma Chowk and Breach Candy also going underwater. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s decision to reduce the number of dewatering pumps from 482 to 417 came under scrutiny after key areas, including Masjid Bunder and Crawford Market, saw severe flooding. Officials had cited infrastructure upgrades to justify the cut, but as silt returned to streets from storm drains and incomplete concrete roads added to the chaos, the city’s preparedness came under fire. King’s Circle had only four of six dewatering pumps operational during the heaviest downpour. At Hindmata, despite the installation of underground tanks intended to drain excess rainwater, flooding worsened due to non-functional connections between pumps and the tanks. A BMC official admitted the critical flaw, stating, “The pumps weren’t even connected to the tanks.”
Despite the chaos, the civic body defended its preparedness, saying over 6,000 personnel were on ground and all 417 pumps were deployed at flood-prone sites. A senior civic official downplayed the pump count as a factor, instead blaming delayed alerts from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). “By the time the red alert was issued, flooding had already begun. That made it tough to respond effectively,” the official said. The BMC’s desilting work also faced criticism. According to its own dashboard, only 71% of drain cleaning was completed as of May 26 — the official monsoon onset. Although officials now claim 82% completion, the shortfall contributed to widespread water stagnation in multiple neighbourhoods, including Dadar’s market area where drains had to be manually cleared. Road works across the city are another pain point. Ongoing concretisation and delays in restoring outfalls for rainwater discharge worsened the situation. Breach Candy, a relatively dry zone historically, was hit with unusual flooding. A local resident pointed to the incomplete outfall system linked to the Mumbai Coastal Road project. “The main road never used to flood like this. Now, the entire stretch is submerged,” the resident said.
With waterlogging at both old and new locations, the monsoon has once again exposed Mumbai’s fragile stormwater readiness — raising hard questions about the city’s infrastructural claims and decision-making just as the rainy season begins.
