Navi Mumbai: Residents from Kundegaon in Uran, who woke up to another flash flood on Monday morning, are planning to go on an agitation soon if the government officials fail to mitigate the situation.
The residents from the Kundegaon are facing unseasonal floods since 2019 have been repeatedly asking the officials to take remedial action. The residents blame the flash floods to the loss of wetlands and destruction of mangroves.
In fact, the residents of Kundegaon have been facing the wrath of man-made disasters since 2008. This is mainly due to the reclamation work in the vicinity. The water outlets at most of the places have been blocked due to unchecked dumping, hindering the natural flow. During high tide, there is no outflow for water hence, it enters into the houses.
“In the middle of the night, we woke up to find our house flooded. This isn’t the first time this has happened. It is the tidal water that often gushes in. The government apathy to this issue is shocking,” said Dilip Koli a resident.
While flash flood has been happening every year and the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) is accused of turning a blind eye to the problem. Pramod Patil, nodal officer, environment Cidco, said, “We have taken measures and installed flap gates to ensure that tidal water does not enter the houses of the locals.
Will yet, again assess the issue and see what can be done.”
The 300-year-old village has lost the old-world charm, most of the heritage homes have been replaced with pucca houses. A self-sufficient village now depends on others. The reclamation has also taken a toll on the traditional fishing profession of the villagers.
The village comes under gram panchayat, and all amenities and facilities are taken care by the panchayat only.
The village is some 10-15 km from the proposed Navi Mumbai airport site. The village has also been well connected with the city and there are schools and colleges nearby.
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Once known for fishing the area has completely changed now many commercial and residential projects have come up.
A parking lot has been erected on wetland
The mountains have been cut and blasted to make way for various projects
Debris dumping along with mangroves areas is rampant in Uran node which is slowly killing the city’s green lungs.
There are 26 villages in Uran district where the livelihood of people has been widely affected.
In 1971 Cidco took charge of Uran Taluka and since then mangrove areas have been reclaimed for various projects.
Despite having no history of the flood, the villagers are facing flood-like situation during high tide.
The roads are higher than in the village.
