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The first heavy showers of this monsoon in Navi Mumbai have led to severe waterlogging in many areas, including the Millennium Tower area of Sector 10 Sanpada. Environmentalists blame the situation on the authorities’ neglect of natural flood mitigation mechanisms such as wetlands and mangroves.
“For the first time in over two decades, the Millennium Tower area of Sector 10 Sanpada was flooded up to knee-level on Sunday,” said NatConnect director B N Kumar. “Indiscriminate construction and blatant violation of environmental norms are the primary causes of this situation.”
The tower area, surrounding roads, and a public park were all inundated. Mangrove, mudflat, and wetland areas have been buried for construction, leading to nature striking back, Kumar added.
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Millennium Towers, a mini township with 13 towers and row houses housing 1,200 flats, faced the brunt of the waterlogging, affecting many senior citizens. “Water entered some of our lift areas, and we couldn’t get to our houses. Our hardships continued as house helps could not come to work,” said retired government official Devendra Bhujbal.
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Activists warn that rampant construction without considering environmental hazards will lead to more issues in the future. An example is the change of land use from wetlands to a public park. “A vast public park-cum-ground area opposite Millennium Towers is listed as a wetland in the Indian Wetlands map prepared by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. This area was low-lying not long ago, and nearby, there are still plenty of mangroves. A holding pond, a flood mitigation mechanism, is threatened by debris dumping, with part of it now turned into a playground,” Kumar said.
