BOMBAY, 24 May 2006 — The forecast by weatherman of the Indian Meteorology Department in Bombay that monsoon rains will hit the metropolis by the end of this month, has made the state government both anxious and nervous.
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's worst fears on Bombay may come true as the government anticipates that Bombay suburbs are likely to have another difficult monsoon due to their chronic infrastructural problems. And coordination between various departments to tackle monsoon-related problems would be biggest challenge.
Umesh Sarangi, principal secretary in the chief minister's office said that the government has reviewed the monsoon preparedness of the state and steps have been taken to address monsoon-related problems. Discussions were also held with the Indian Air Force, Army and Navy officials about the deployment of their personnel in trouble-prone areas.
K.S. Watse, senior officer of disaster management team, said the government will acquire 60 boats and officials will monitor dams round-the-clock to ensure regulated water release to aver floods. But yet, the people of Bombay are not convinced of the state government's strategy and suspect if the announced measures are enough to tackle a disaster of the magnitude witnessed last year.
A senior Cabinet minister said almost all chronic problems that led to the collapse of Bombay last year, remained because of paucity of funds and lack of political will. The foremost concern before the government is the slum settlements on hill slopes in Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Bhandup, Goregaon, Malad, Kurla, Mulund, and particularly the low lying areas in Andheri and Bandra, which are identified as danger zones. The other worry is the dilapidated buildings.
The police which played a crucial role in getting Bombay back to normalcy after 26/7, are prepared with a well-thought out strategy to tackle the monsoon., this year too. Thirty variable message signboards (read electronic signboards) approved by the home department, FM radio and television channels as well as real-time mobile phone messaging to three million Bombayites will bolster the efforts of the police to face an emergency situation like last year.
Bombay Police Commissioner Anami Roy said, "Most of the sanctioned 30 variable messaging signboards will be strategically located in different parts of the city to provide commuters with real-time information of what traveling on the route ahead entails. For this all mobile phone service providers were being sensitized about providing real-time efficiency so that messages reach citizens faster and with date and time to prevent any false alarm arising out of delayed messages.
Roy further said that the police department has therefore chalked out an elaborate strategy to cope with any such disaster-like situation that may arise during the monsoon. In all 107 places in the city are at risk of flooding in the monsoon. Out of these 40 have been identified as heavy water logging spots.
“In addition to the control room that was established to coordinate police efforts during last year's deluge, we will be setting up an additional control room and media center at the Bandra-Kurla Complex police station building where reserves of police personnel and resources may be centrally located for reaching out to all parts of the city in a crisis situation,” Roy said
Phone Calls Between Bombai and Delhi Cheaper
Telephone subscribers in Bombay and Pune have something to cheer and celebrate. The Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited yesterday announced a drastic cut in the Subscriber Telephone Dialling (STD) rates between Bombay and Delhi.
The MTNL launched yesterday STD services on its Bombay and Delhi network, wherein calls between the two cities will be charged at local call rates of Rs. 1.20 per three minutes. However, the new call rates will become effective from June 1.
MTNL after terminating its long ties with the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) opted for the Tata-owned Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) as its choice carrier for STD calls. Till yesterday it was BSNL, another government of India undertaking which was MTNL’s long distance call carrier, but relations between the two turned sour after BSNL started charging higher rates for the services.
The termination of contract between the two federal government undertakings will cause immense financial loss to BSNL, said a senior official of the MTNL.
