Mumbai city has been experiencing torrential downpours for the past couple of days and despite it happening every year, the damages and issues caused remain persistent. The heavy downpour also resulted in heavy damage to personal property as the drainage system of Mumbai failed yet again! Due to the heavy rains, a parking lot got filled to the brim with rainwater, resulting in huge damage to the 400 vehicles parked inside.
Where did it happen?
The incident happened in an underground parking lot in the Kandivali area. The adjoining areas were also submerged in the water. The reports state that the parking lot had high-end vehicles and It is also stated that other vehicles suffered extensive damages such as in the engine bay and the cabin.
Most of the damaged vehicles were auto-rickshaws and scooters. It is reported that there were cars like Hyundai Creta, Volkswagen Polo and luxury brands like Audi were also inside that parking lot. It is reported that the rainwater kept flowing into the underground parking lot as it continued to pour outside. At one point, it is said the water level inside the parking lot exceeded 15 feet. And while efforts were made to pump out the water, there was still around three feet of rainwater left for most of Monday. News agency PTI reported that an activist had highlighted the figure of 400 even though Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has not backed this yet. The parking lot had been constructed by Mumbai civic body and was being run by a private contractor.
Statement by the local Corporator
Local corporator Sunita Yadav was quoted saying that while there was always some amount of rainwater that entered the parking lot in the past, the situation had been far worse this time. She is also believed to have said that the civic body ought to compensate the owners of the vehicles.
BMC is looking into the problem and has said it will look into the question of compensation for the owners of these vehicles.