With the Assembly elections approaching, the Congress, smarting from its defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, seems to be making the hot topic of monsoon preparedness one of its selling points.
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A day after the party launched its own monsoon disaster management cell, Mumbai Regional Congress Committee president Milind Deora on Friday visited Dharavi to inspect the cleaning of sewage drains.
Mr. Deora was accompanied by Congress MLA Varsha Gaikwad, and Ravi Raja, opposition leader in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), to 60 Feet Road.
“The BMC has a budget of ₹120 crore to clean these drains, but they are still in a pathetic state. Boundary walls are broken, officers are unaware, and children are at risk of falling inside. These are accidents waiting to happen. The cleaning process began in April, but they have only been cleaning the surface,” Mr. Raja said.
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Mr. Deora interacted with residents and promised to take up their issues. “We want to see what the authorities do about this. We are not blaming any particular party, but the government and politicians,” Mr. Deora said.
Farooq Sheikh, a Dharavi resident, said drains are never cleaned deeply. “Workers who come to clean these drains always sweep the surface and leave. Garbage chokes these drains along with mud, which rises during the monsoon and floods roads and homes. The stagnated water is also a breeding ground for mosquitoes, due to which many children suffer from malaria and dengue,” Mr. Sheikh said.
Mr. Deora said, “We have been raising these issues in different forums, especially in the BMC. If the civic body fails to take action, we will be forced to agitate, but we hope this issue will be resolved quickly.”