• Monsoon’s fury was unleashed on Mumbai and suburbs on Sunday 4 August 2019 with Kalyan Dombivali region receiving heavier showers than usual. We, the citizens of Palava City, were planning to enjoy rains sitting at our homes on a lazy Sunday morning. After-all, we are proudly the citizens of India’s No. 1 Smart City; what could worry us? Well, we were utterly wrong.

The flash flood reportedly started encroaching within CR/ CRG through the opening of river bed, earmarked to establish connectivity by Lodha Group between Phase I and Phase II, Palava City. It’s aggravated due to high tide and opening gates of Barvi Dam altogether. Inevitably, we, the citizens of India’s No. 1 Smart City, suffered alike those reside in chawls, if not worse. Life stalled, movable assets (automobiles, etc.) drowned, people stuck and traumatized not believing their own eyes as water level was rising literally minute by minute engulfing everything it gets in reach.

Life finds its own way. After initial shock, people started bouncing back in every possible way. Thanks to each and every Palava residents and staff of PCMA who risked their lives to help suffered ones unconditionally and voluntarily. Sooner than later, things started moving back into normalcy as the downpour subsided and clogged water drained in due course.

But what is next? Should we sit back, relax and feel relieved that we did a good damage control? Or we should take this as nature’s warning and act on precautionary measures upfront? We don’t know if this is it or it’s just a preview of the real show. Remember, nobody has seen 26 July 2005 till 25th and nobody knows if it’s a benchmark or not.

As citizens, we would like the appropriate authority to take a note of our requirements/ preventive measures as we have thought of.

1.    Construction of higher retention wall to deflect the river water encroachment into Palava city.

2.    Dredging of river bed to get more retention capacity.

3.    Immediate seizure of dumping construction/ domestic garbage on banks of/ directly on river. This may be achieved by a high mesh installation on river banks on both sides to refrain people from dumping construction and household waste materials.

4.    Higher elevation and proper leveling of the entire stretch of road connecting Palava City  Phase I (CR/ CRG) to Kalyan-Shilphata road. This may be coupled with clearance of clogged road drainage connections with river which eventually result in water logging in patches even during slightest rain.

5.    Proper planning and absolute preventive measures to be carried out before any further new construction around. We could see some new projects coming in patches through the connecting road and heard about some in other side of the river. If it happens in reality, this will eventually result in lessening further natural flood plain area.

We’d like to let all know that while we, the citizens, are driving this to safeguard our life/ assets from any future possible grievances from mother nature; it’ll eventually help the authorities to establish relationship-based sales/ a good did at least. Together we can surely make Palava India’s No. 1 Smart City; not only in theory and statistical data sheets but in reality, too.

We look forward for immediate support at appropriate level on arrangement to act on these. The more we delay, more we are prone to be vulnerable to any future possible calamity.