First showers bring in a flood of political accusations

Addressing a press conference in Shiv Sena Bhavan on Sunday, Aaditya claimed that Mumbai flooded because of the irregularities in the contracts issued by the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. He also slammed the CM for saying that people should quit complaining about flooding and welcome the monsoon. “This is insensitive and making fun of Mumbaikars,”’ he said

Mumbai: The first showers of the monsoon have led to not just waterlogging at several places in the city but a flood of cross-accusations between its rival political parties. While Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray launched a fierce attack on chief minister Eknath Shinde, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar lambasted Aditya’s party for shielding corrupt BMC contractors over the years.

On Sunday morning, after the stinging criticism of the BMC, Shinde visited several spots and asked officers to take corrective steps. Putting up a defence in front of the media, the CM said that despite 70 mm of rain, traffic on Milan Subway had operated smoothly, as pumping systems ensured that the flood water was pumped out. (PTI)

Addressing a press conference in Shiv Sena Bhavan on Sunday, Aaditya claimed that Mumbai flooded because of the irregularities in the contracts issued by the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. He also slammed the CM for saying that people should quit complaining about flooding and welcome the monsoon. “This is insensitive and making fun of Mumbaikars,”’ he said.

Aaditya claimed that when his party was in power, it had completely stopped the flooding at Hindmata Junction and under Santa Cruz’s Milan Subway by installing underground rainwater tanks. “The Shinde-Fadnavis government is taking credit for this,” he said. “The BMC had claimed there would be pumps to pull out excess water everywhere, but none of those seem to be operational.”

The BJP too slammed the BMC and demanded that the civic administration take immediate steps to improve the situation. “ “The dissatisfactory work of nullah-cleaning was brought to the notice of the civic body after our inspection ahead of the monsoon,” said Shelar. The BMC has been indulging in covering up shoddy work by contractors. The same old contractors have been following the same old style of functioning without any transparency.”

Shelar’s dig was aimed at the Thackeray faction, which has ruled the BMC for 25 years. “This happened because contractors have been shielded by Uddhav Thackeray’s party for years,” he said. “The party’s corporators and former mayor were sulking while the party chief was away in London when the desilting of nullahs was going on. Thackeray has no right to speak, as the plight of citizens is because of his party and the contractors it patronised.”

On Sunday morning, after the stinging criticism of the BMC, Shinde visited several spots and asked officers to take corrective steps. Putting up a defence in front of the media, the CM said that despite 70 mm of rain, traffic on Milan Subway had operated smoothly, as pumping systems ensured that the flood water was pumped out. “I have told municipal commissioner I S Chahal and additional commissioner P Velarasu to ensure that people do not have to suffer,” he said. “Everything will be monitored in the war room. We have already announced that the officials responsible for the flooding will be punished and the ones in areas that did not flood will be rewarded.”

Aaditya, in his continued tirade, said the government had claimed that Mumbai’s roads would be made pothole-free but nothing was done. “We used to complete work on all roads by May 31 or bring them to a safe stage and restart them on October 1,” he said. “Eknath Shinde should replicate the conviction he showed in toppling the MVA government to solve the problems of Mumbaikars instead.”

Shiv Sena spokesperson Kiran Pawaskar, in a counter-attack, dubbed Aaditya as “mentally challenged” for twisting Shinde’s statement. “The CM said we must welcome the rains because they benefit farmers,” he said, adding that Thackeray’s corruption in the last 24 years had resulted in the present mess. “Aaditya Thackeray must not forget that all his expenses were taken care of by a commission from corporators,” he alleged.

The NCP also hit out at the BMC and state government. “They had claimed that nullah-cleaning and desilting had been done satisfactorily, and there would be no flooding in the monsoon,” said NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase. “The claims have proved to be a sham. The BJP would target us when our government was in power. Where are they now after the very first showers have waterlogged the city?”

When questioned by HT, municipal commissioner I S Chahal said, “We have done 100 per cent cleaning of nullahs. But it rained 140 mm on Saturday, and the high tide came in at 4.15 pm. Flooding of a temporary nature is bound to happen but everything opened up in half an hour. The railways too did not stop.”