Pouring rain, drowning cities

Poor drainage affects all our cities; it is time we demanded a change

Alok Tiwari

Despite the continuing threat of deficient rains owing to the superstrong El Nino this year, Indian monsoon managed to create a ripple across the country. The brief revival of monsoon lasted only a few days but during that period it presented the sights familiar to all Indians for years. Entire areas of cities submerged in rainwater for hours. This is a phenomenon repeated across the country, across the years, be it in small towns or biggest metros. Rain means waterlogging.

It brings with it all the attendant problems like vehicles getting stuck and frequently needing expensive repairs afterwards, wells getting contaminated, disease, infestation of pests and, in areas close to nullahs, even snakes. It magnifies the already present dangers on roads. Potholes and open manholes become invisible under water turning into death traps. Exposed power cables create danger of electrocution. Trees already weakened by paved surfaces around them fall snuffing out lives and damaging property.

Even an hour or two of heavy rains is enough for even best areas of any city turn into giant swimming pools, albeit filled with dirty water. So predictable is this that cars and two wheelers wading through accumulated rainwater is the signature picture in newspapers the day following heavy rains. All of us now have alternative routes hard-wired into our brains for going around during the period of heavy showers because we know which areas, which roads, and which squares are going to be inundated. Newer places keep getting added to the list. Everyone has a few anecdotes on how they got marooned.

Over the decades, Indian cities have changed significantly, adding flyovers, metro systems, malls and high rises. Yet, with respect to waterlogging, the picture has remained the same. If anything, it appears to be getting worse. The reasons are obvious. In virtually every city, paved areas have increased, open surfaces have shrunk reducing the ability of land to absorb water. Parks and gardens are nearly gone. Roads are turning concrete. Almost all development has interfered with natural drainage that existed on the land before it became a city. Water bodies that accommodated vast quantities of water are either gone or diminished. Streams and rivers have been turned into narrow nullahs, their floodplains built over.

Some of this was inevitable. But much of it was avoidable. You do need buildings and roads and transportation system that will cover the open earth. But this need not mean you pave over every square metre. It could be done while preserving the garden and forest patches, lakes and ponds, and letting rivers be rivers. Additional drainage systems can be built if there are proper foresight and intent. It neither takes very advanced technology nor vast resources. Water, after all, will flow away on its own. You only need to leave a channel for it. It is not rocket-science. Ensuring no project blocks the area’s water flow should be in the design brief itself. It should be part of local development rules, and those rules need to be enforced. It is possible, nay, necessary to improve drainage in every area. With climate change, extreme rain events are more likely. We need to be ready.

It is not happening because of two reasons. First, whatever happens in the name of development is influenced by powerful interests instead of answering to the needs of the city. In every city there is a leader, or a handful of them, pushing the development to suit their own agenda. They are often in cahoots with local builders. They also control the local authorities and building permits. They are usually concerned about what is visible and gleaming on the ground, not what remains hidden. A drainage network is always hidden under the ground. Politicians can claim credit for flyover, but nobody will remember them when rainwater quickly exits the area. Hence, the flyover gets built, drainage system does not.

The second reason is lack of enforcement. This could be due to inadequate machinery and/or corruption. Cities undertake pre-monsoon work unfailingly each year. Broadly these involve desilting the nullahs and stormwater drains. If properly done, they will make a difference. These are intentionally done so perfunctorily that there is need to carry them out every year. This is also why our roads do not last, and our footpaths do not exist. There are people making big money just by letting things be. If these things were to stop, entire careers will be ruined.

We need to take some blame as citizens too. A lot of things do not happen because we do not demand that they do. We do not insist that our footpaths remain free for us to walk, we do not agitate for streetlights and traffic signals to work. We do not care if construction site blocks the road or operates noisy machinery well into the night. We also do not care if rainwater floods our drawing room and our parking lot. We have become too used to poor quality of life. And then when we go abroad, we are impressed by simple things like a walkable footpaths and clean air and water.

Some civic-minded individuals complain but they are silenced by threats or sheer indifference. Citizens in most localities are not organised and hardly ever voice their anger in a united, concerted way unless things become intolerable. Let us not under-estimate the power of organized protests, at least after the cockroach movement. Of course, all of us have our lives to take care of. But let us take some time out for improving things that affect everyone. Let us also, at least in local elections, keep ideology out and vote in effective, untainted people.

Indians have a gift of monsoon, among the most wonderful rainy seasons anywhere in the world. We should be able to enjoy it in our cities instead of suffering through it. For this, we need to do our bit as well.

This column appeared in Lokmat Times on Aug 6, 2026