BMC Monsoon Deaths Trigger Stormy Debate As BJP-Shiv Sena (UBT) Trade Charges

Mumbai: A stormy marathon debate and political blame game unfolded in the BMC on Friday over the 11 monsoon-related deaths reported in recent days, with the BJP-led Mahayuti and Shiv Sena (UBT) trading charges over fatalities caused by tree and building collapses, open manholes. Corporators blamed severe staff shortages in the civic garden department, alleged that large-scale road concretisation had weakened tree roots, and demanded the restoration of the compensation policy for victims.

Heavy rains expose civic lapses with deaths and injuries across Mumbai

Last week's torrential rain exposed glaring civic lapses, claiming 11 lives and 22 injuries triggering over 1,700 tree and branch falls since July 1. The victims included a 55-year-old man who fell into an open manhole in Sakinaka and seven people killed in separate building collapses, including the Mankhurd tragedy. Amid mounting public outrage, the BMC convened a special General Body meeting on Friday following a demand by Opposition corporators from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress to discuss accountability and measures to prevent similar tragedies during the ongoing monsoon.

Black outfits and slogans disrupt special General Body meeting

The civic house witnessed high drama, with Congress corporators dressed in black and Shiv Sena (UBT) members wearing black armbands to protest the recent monsoon deaths. The proceedings were disrupted after Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators raised slogans, triggering an uproar that forced Mayor Ritu Tawde to adjourn the House for 10 minutes. After the meeting resumed, MNS group leader Yashwant Killedar demanded a citywide structural audit of manholes, trees and illegal constructions. Alleging selective action by the civic administration, he said that while BMC officials had been suspended over recent fatal incidents, the contractors who executed the works and were allegedly responsible had escaped accountability.

Congress group leader Ashraf Azmi, along with Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators Vishakha Raut, Shraddha Jadhav, Ankit Prabhu and Sachin Padwal, led the Opposition's attack on the civic administration, accusing it of serious lapses in monsoon preparedness. The corporators demanded that the BMC undertake free tree trimming in private housing societies and make tree pruning a year-round exercise, instead of limiting it to a brief drive just before the monsoon. The debate continued late into the night, with Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide's response still awaited at the time of going to press.

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