As the first heavy showers rains battered Mumbai and suburbs on Sunday, triggering water-logging and building collapses, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray criticised Chief Minister and rival Shiv Sena faction leader Eknath Shinde over civic failures even as two persons died in an incident of building collapse in the city.
According to authorities in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the balcony of a ground floor and the first floor of a ground-plus-two floored building caved in the city’s Vile Parle area, killing two senior citizens.
In a separate incident, a portion of a ground-plus-three floor residential building collapsed in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area. Four people have been rescued while two were still trapped inside the debris, BMC authorities said, adding that the situation was under control.
As the city was bedevilled by water-logging at several points, Mr. Aaditya Thackeray attacked Mr. Shinde over the latter’s claims of civic preparedness.
Mr. Aaditya Thackeray called Mr. Shinde’s response to citizens’ complaints about waterlogging and civic failures in Mumbai “disgraceful”, stating in a tweet that Mr. Shinde’s rebuke to Mumbai’s citizens was an embodiment of “shamelessness, incompetence, and corruption”.
“If shamelessness, incompetence and corruption had a face… It’s disgraceful for him [Mr. Shinde] to rebuke Mumbaikars for complaining about water logging and collapse of civic machinery yesterday. All his false promises, photo ops in Mumbai hold zero value,” he tweeted.
“The CM had said in May that his administration would complete 50 roads before the start of the monsoon. This is the smallest target in BMC’s history and yet not one of the 50 roads has been completed,” Mr. Aaditya Thackeray, son of former Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, later said, speaking to reporters.
Mr. Aaditya Thackeray further claimed that in the past, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray himself would go to inspect the drains.
“When he [Mr. Uddhav Thackeray] was CM, he used to go to the disaster control room and take stock of the situation. Our [MVA] government used to take action,” the younger Mr. Thackeray claimed, alleging that only contractors had benefited in the new Shinde-Fadnavis regime. As Mr. Aaditya Thackeray hurled barbs at Mr. Shinde, the Chief Minister today reviewed the functioning of an underground water tank installed at the Milan subway to prevent flooding.
“I personally came to review the situation at the Milan subway and the new system works. More than 70 mm rainfall was reported in one hour, still the system that we have developed is functioning. Despite such excessive rain, the Milan subway remained open for vehicular movement. Similar systems are functional in other areas of Mumbai also,” Mr. Shinde said.
Given that this year’s long-pending BMC poll will be bitterly contested between the rival Sena factions, the verbal duels between the leadership of the two camps over the city’s civic infrastructure is expected to be particularly fierce during the course of the monsoon.
Earlier this week, the Mumbai Police formed a special investigation team (SIT), following its announcement by Mr. Shinde to inquire into the alleged irregularities in expenditure of ₹12,024 crore by nine departments of the BMC.
The SIT was formed after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had criticised the civic body for mismanagement, lack of transparency, and callous handling of funds.
The move is seen as an attempt by the ruling government to crank up pressure on the Thackeray clan, which dominated the BMC for over two decades, ahead of the Mumbai civic poll.
