The recent study highlighting that at least 2,300 people die in Mumbai every year due to heavy rains is a stark and painful reminder of the city's deeply rooted disparities. It's a statistic that, as Aditi Shekar reported for Hindustan Times, is comparable to cancer deaths in the city between 2006 and 2015 At least 2,300 people die in the city every year due to heavy rains: Study | Mumbai news. But what truly strikes me is that a staggering 85% of these monsoon-related fatalities are among those living in slums.
This isn't just a number; it's a profound indictment of our collective failure to provide basic human security. Archana Patankar, founder of Green Globe Consulting and a co-author of the paper published in Nature, rightly pointed out that mortality is noticeably higher in slum areas due to the rapid spread of vector-borne and water-borne diseases in stagnant water. Ashwin Rode, a research assistant professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago and the corresponding author, further emphasized how poor drainage and sanitation systems trigger these deadly outbreaks.
Reflecting on this, I'm filled with a sense of both profound sadness and a troubling validation. Years ago, I wrote about the plight of our slum-dwelling population in my blog, "No. Simply slumdogs!" [http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2011/10/slumdog-millionaires_3.html], where I argued that the city's aspirations to be a 'Shanghai' were hollow without first addressing the basic needs of its millions of slum residents. I also shed light on the struggles of street children, many living in these very slums, in "When will they see food?" [http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2013/07/when-will-they-see-food.html], detailing the systemic neglect they faced. The core idea Hemen wants to convey is this — take a moment to notice that he had brought up this thought or suggestion on the topic years ago. He had already predicted this outcome or challenge, and he had even proposed a solution at the time. Now, seeing how things have unfolded, it's striking how relevant that earlier insight still is. Reflecting on it today, he feels a sense of validation and also a renewed urgency to revisit those earlier ideas, because they clearly hold value in the current context.
We've seen similar patterns of preventable deaths before, whether it was from dilapidated buildings collapsing, which I discussed in "Maharashtra’s policy for dilapidated buildings soon" [http://mylinkedinposting.blogspot.com/2019/07/maharashtras-policy-for-dilapidated.html], or the broader issues of water management that I've often deliberated upon, from scarcity in "Water Water Everywhere?" [http://mylinkedinposting.blogspot.com/2019/06/water-water-everywhere-even-in-latur.html] to the inefficient systems discussed in "Crores spent but only 25% water meters functional in city: BMC data" [http://mylinkedinposting.blogspot.com/2019/02/crores-spent-but-only-25-water-meters-functional-in-city-bmc-data.html]. While those blogs often focused on different facets of urban governance, the underlying thread is consistent: a reactive, rather than proactive, approach to critical challenges.
Health economist Ravi Duggal's observations resonate deeply with me. He articulated the harrowing reality that slum residents are "literally wading through contaminated water" during heavy rains, and that women and children disproportionately bear the brunt of these conditions. His frustration with the city's basic services being "in shambles" and the administration's perceived lack of "direction or urgency" mirrors my own long-standing critiques.
The study further warns of a grim future: a 5-cm rise in sea level by 2030 could increase rainfall-related deaths by 7%, making up 9% of all monsoon deaths. This is not some distant threat; it is our immediate future if we continue on this path. The recommended public health measures, such as storm water drains and early-warning systems for flood-prone pockets, are not novel solutions. They are basic necessities that should have been in place for decades.
This is not merely a natural disaster; it is a profound social injustice. We must move beyond studies and acknowledge the human cost of neglect. The time for urgent, equitable, and sustainable urban planning is not tomorrow, but now.
Regards, Hemen Parekh
Of course, if you wish, you can debate this topic with my Virtual Avatar at : hemenparekh.ai
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