Bhiwandi Floods Expose ₹2.5-Crore Desilting Scam, Teen Batti Submerged Amid Civic Negligence

Bhiwandi: Just two days of monsoon rain have exposed glaring gaps in Bhiwandi's pre-monsoon preparedness, with several low-lying neighbourhoods inundated and the city's busiest commercial hub, Three Batti, submerged under waist-deep water. The widespread flooding disrupted normal life, damaged homes, shops and powerloom units, and reignited concerns over the effectiveness of the Bhiwandi Municipal Corporation's (BMC) ₹2.5-crore drain desilting project.

Stormwater Swamps Homes, Shops, and Factories

The flooding has also triggered allegations of incomplete drain cleaning, administrative negligence and poor emergency response, with residents demanding accountability from civic officials and contractors.

Continuous rainfall over the past two days brought large parts of Bhiwandi to a standstill as stormwater and overflowing drains flooded roads and residential areas across the city. Water entered hundreds of shops, houses and powerloom factories, causing significant financial losses to traders, industrial workers and local residents.

₹2.5 Crore Spent, But Drains Remain Choked

The worst-hit location was Teen Batti, Bhiwandi's principal wholesale and retail marketplace, where waist-deep water paralysed business activity for several hours. Vegetable vendors, shopkeepers and customers struggled to move through flooded streets, while several establishments suffered losses after rainwater entered their premises.

Ironically, the flooding comes despite the BMC awarding contracts worth approximately ₹2.5 crore for pre-monsoon desilting and cleaning of drains across all five civic wards before the onset of the rainy season.

Contaminated Water Floods Colonies, Strands Vehicles

However, residents allege that even before the monsoon arrived, barely half of the scheduled desilting work had been completed due to negligence by contractors and inadequate monitoring by civic authorities. As heavy rain lashed the city, clogged drains overflowed, sending contaminated water onto roads and into residential and commercial properties.

Several areas, including Shanti Nagar, Gaibi Nagar, Ansar Nagar, Dargah Road, Bandar Mohalla, Three Batti, Uchit Pada and Aam Pada, witnessed severe waterlogging. Overflowing drains made commuting difficult, with several two-wheelers and four-wheelers stranded in flooded stretches. Water also entered homes and business establishments, damaging household belongings, machinery and merchandise.

Citizens Slam Annual Desilting as Mere Paperwork

Residents expressed anger over what they described as the absence of an effective civic emergency response despite widespread flooding. Many claimed that no municipal teams were seen carrying out immediate water drainage or relief operations in the worst-affected areas.

Local citizens questioned why the city continues to witness severe flooding every monsoon despite crores of rupees being spent annually on drain cleaning. They alleged that poor planning, inadequate supervision and delayed execution have reduced the desilting exercise to a routine paper exercise rather than an effective flood-prevention measure.

Ex-Corporator Demands Action Against Officials

Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Azhar Khoje, a resident of Nizampur, said This is only the beginning of the monsoon, yet the city has already come to a standstill. If heavier rainfall follows in the coming weeks, the situation could become much worse. The Municipal Corporation must move beyond paperwork and ensure that work is actually completed on the ground.

Former corporator Haleem Ansari also criticised the civic administration, alleging that this year's drain cleaning work was carried out poorly and without proper supervision.

The citizens are paying the price for the Municipal Corporation's failure. If the intensity of rainfall increases in the coming days, hardly any part of the city will remain free from flooding. The BMC must fix responsibility and take strict action against officials and contractors responsible for the negligence Ansari said.

The latest flooding has once again reignited a recurring question among residents: why does Bhiwandi continue to experience widespread waterlogging every monsoon despite substantial public expenditure on drain maintenance?

With the monsoon season only just beginning, citizens fear that the situation could deteriorate further if corrective measures are not implemented immediately. Residents are now demanding an independent inquiry into the execution of the drain desilting contracts, strict accountability for lapses and urgent measures to improve the city's flood management system before heavier spells of rain arrive.

For many in Bhiwandi, the first major showers of the season have once again highlighted the widening gap between civic claims of preparedness and the reality on the ground, leaving businesses, households and daily commuters to bear the cost of recurring urban flooding.

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