‘Unfinished infrastructure projects a gap that needs to be plugged’

You said you have identified gaps in the communication system,as per your after-action report. What gaps are these?

During the Opera House and Zaveri Bazaar bomb blast,the communication had completely collapsed. There was no mobile network due to blockage. We have therefore introduced HAM radio communication. On the June 16,when extremely heavy rainfall was predicted,according to my SOP,HAMs were on standby at every ward control room.

Water-logging has been a perennial problem for the city,and your guidelines appear to be the same year after year.

The SOP will generally never change. When water-logging prone areas get reduced,the data changes. But I’m not the right person to speak about this data,because that is handled by chief engineers SWD.

Every time there is a disaster,have there been instances when you have found things that need to be put in place,which are not?

There are many limitations. For example,NBC (National Building Code) is already in place and we make it mandatory for new buildings. But for old buildings,what can we do? In the case of waterlogging,CCTV feed in our control room helped a lot when Hindmata was affected. This new technology is now being used in Disaster Management.

When a private building collapses,does the BMC’s disaster management team assume responsibility?

Yes,our fire brigade goes there. If it is beyond the coping capacity of the district,the state intervenes. If it is a major disaster that is beyond the capacity of the state as well,the Centre takes over.

In reality however,a number of SOPs are not followed. For example,a lot of people did not get an SMS from the commissioner this time.

Before the monsoon,we have meetings with various stakeholders like mobile operators,multi-channel operaters and NGOs. We ask mobile operaters to send the SMS. I don’t know how you didn’t receive an SMS. We received confirmations from BPL,Vodafone,Airtel,etc that they have sent SMSes.

How are you tackling the challenge of complaints of de-watering pumps not working?

The commissioner has taken a serious note of what happened on June 9,when we experienced that some of the pumps were not operated,while some pump operators were manhandled by local residents. Many were fighting over putting the pumps in their own colonies. An FIR for what happened at Milan subway has also been lodged. The problem is some pump operators say our men cannot stand at the pumps for 10 hours. There was no diesel,as the petrol pump did not give them any. Now the commisioner has taken the decision to keep 24 hours backup diesel.

Like your beach safety measures,what other contingency measures have you taken?

For flooding,we have installed de-watering pumps. Our ward control room is operational with additional manpower. NDRF is pre-positioned in case of building collapses or landslide. They are also equipped for CBRN (Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Disasters). Along with that,nine naval teams,and various fire brigades are positioned in Mumbai.

After the 26/11 terror attacks,have you formulated a plan where you can help in times of a terror act?

Generally,a terror act is completely handled by the police,not by us. But during such times,what is expected from us is health services,ambulances,hospital arrangements,which we do.

In case of a disaster such as the 2005 deluge,how equipped is BMC to deal with such a deluge now?

We can assure you that we are prepared to minimise the damage and loss. On July 26,there were many gaps that were breached. The disaster management cell was operating out of a 100 sq ft room with two telephones. There was no communication,no coordination. Today,108 stakeholders in Mumbai are identified,and we have regular meetings where everyone’s responsibility is defined. We carry out mock drills,our ward control rooms are fully equipped with manpower and technology.

Which are the gaps that have not been plugged?

Unfinished infrastructure projects are one major gap. Multiple agencies are involved. Whatever was the BMC’s responsibility has been done. We are dependent on other agencies. There are four planning authorities in Mumbai,but the BMC is always blamed for most of the things.