At the outset, I would like to offer my sincere and heartfelt condolences to all the families and relatives bereaved.
In this hour of a terrible tragedy,instead of indulging in blame-mongering on our politicians, there are other immediate tasks at hand
Reaching and rescuing people still trapped. Providing relief material to those in dire need of it as quickly as possible. Clearing of the bodies and debris. Draining of the flooded areas.
We must understand the pressures the govt. goes through and the logistical complexities involved in order to put up a co-ordinated rescue effort. It's easy for us on the outside to make comments.
Granted, the govt. does not do enough in terms of infrastrcuture, medical and relief services,but,if it's any consolation, even London was caught napping for all its modern infrastructure and some of these services did take a hit.
When this is all over, in order to prevent from such terrible tragedies for recurring, we need to form working partnerships with government, force it to form local civic bodies which have been empowered with right technology and manpower, so that these local bodies can respond on an almost immediate basis.
I believe when nature strikes no Shiv sena or Congress or any power in the world can do any thing to stop it. So why shud we sit and blame the system which is trying every bit to save the affected people. Infact i salute the spirit of the Mumbaikars and it is at times like these that we feel proud to say that we belong to this city. I totally agree with some people who said that Mumbai handled the Bomb blasts much better than London. and after reading some of the stories put up on this site i feel that People have actually supported one another and without once complianing have helped bring this city back to normal.
A big Thank you to all these heroes . one thing that people shud realize is that no storm or anything could ever dampen the Spirit of Mumbai. Thats what makes mumbai soooo special to every Mumbaikar.
I am not a resident of Mumbai but I really feel for those suffering due to the heavy rain.
In the past we have heard ridiculous excuses during rescue or rehabilitation work from our politicians in the event of any natural calamity and now also they follow the same lines....Credit to me and Debit to either the opposition or the almighty. Every time only the common people come to the forefront to the rescue or rehabilitation work.
Have we heard of any politician or top official suffering due to this sort of calmity or have we heard of any politician or top official working with the common man in the field, even for a day or two.
For quite sometime they say to change the face of Mumbai to Sanghai.A single event has shown how much and how long need to be done to acheive that.Building castles in air is very easy.
i am at australia and have never witnessed anything fierce for mumbai after the 6 th december riots .well i am extremely worried for all my people and all the people out there facing the harch tremors of the rains.mumbai has always remained my heart and life.and i feel deeply pained for what it is facing .i pray to god that let all be good and well once again and for the safety of everybody over there.
Against all the odds Mumbai is slowly but steadily gaining normalcy and life. People are still to reach their homes but step by step things are getting normal. Thanks to the radio stations and the media who kept the information on air. All those worried about relatives My word is that Mumbaikars are for each other and things are limbing back to normalcy. It is sad that the Government efforts were barely seen or felt.
It is surprising and shocking that even the central government except for making statements no practical help has reached. Shame on this !!!
But beleive me our learnings on our disaster management has been tremendous. Still surprised every year we keep learning but still no progress on the DM systems !!
It looks like nature is unleashing it's fury on Maharashtra in general and Mumbai in particular. I have been a Mumbaikar most of my life and have always been addicted to it's lifestyle. Just like all people in Mumbai believe "Aamche Mumbai is the best place on Earth". What needs to be learnt from Mumbaikars is their relentlessness. You have floods on one side, fire on another and still the BSE hits another high. Huh, nothing can stop Mumbai from being the best. Mumbaikars are born warriors, afterall it's the Maratha blood. Rajeev. Coimbatore
When I see the media coverage of this deadliest rain in Mumbai, I was amazed at the tales of people readily helping the persons stranded and in need.
At the same point I read few emails from the people who stay in some developed countries like USA and JAPAN, who couldn't even imagine what is it like 1 meter of rain fall in single day, expressing their disgust, comparing Mumbai's administration with New York's or Tokyo's administration of handling snow storm or earth quake.
Here people are talking about a city under water with 1 crore population and hit by the worst ever rain in the history of country.
Its not wise to talk about reationale' behind India's UNSC claim or comparing BMC with NYPD.
Indian Govt has quickly engaged Army, Navy, Airforce and Paramilitary and all the political parties are working united.
Please save your suggestions and advises for long term solutions for making Mumbai safe and haven for living to later postings and post them a month later.
Lets try to help the needy, if you can't do any thing then PLEASE DONT PREACH
For me, I have been working double time in singapore since yesterdat, as my team in SEEPZ are unable to reach office
I just heard (today, July 28, 2 pm) that my brother whose office in south Mumbai, reached his residence in Vashi this morning, after having left his office on Tuesday evening.
I was not overtly afraid for him, though. I have lived in Mumbai for 8 years and know the spirit of the city. We had terrible flooding in July '83 and again July '84, when trains were stranded, and I knew that Mumbai'ites are capable of seeing through such calamities, without much goverment assistance - that's the Spirit of Mumbai - the fellowship of the people of Mumbai!
I can imagine what would have happened if such rainfall had occurred in Bangalore where I live now. Let all Mumbai'ites rest assured that the infrastructure in Mumbai is much more robust than in hyped-up places like Bangalore.
A passing thought: if just rain and water-logged roads caused so much trouble to Mumbaikars they can surely imagine what it must have been like, for those people whose residences and dwellings were so tragically washed away by the tsunami 7 months ago!
