Youths from Zinzuwada villages came to the rescue of the devotees. Only  villagers living in the periphery know the vast expanse of the Rann thoroughly. Just by looking at the mud pattern and humidity they can sense how safe or dangerous could it be during the day. All the devotees were brought back safe.

Two days later, there came the warning of Maha cyclone and heavy rainfall. The local Sankalan Samiti, or the coordination committee, chaired by the deputy collector, met in the presence of the local MLA, discussing several serious issues concerning the Rann, especially hundreds of agariyas, who had already already moved to the Rann for salt cultivation.
 

No doubt, rainfall at the start of the season usually saves some amount they spend on diesel, which they require to pump out water to make bunds for saltpans and level the beds of the saltpans. This earthen work continues for a month, after which agariyas pour water into saltpans in order to cultivate salt.
 

 

“One barrel of crude oil/diesel is saved if we get rain water during this time”, said Keshubhai Surani, one of the salt farmers from Ghatila Rann area, pointing towards the reason why most of the agariyas did not leave Rann despite recent post-monsoon rain. One barrel costs around Rs 12,500, an amount which they usually borrow from trader.

“However”, he admitted, “This time, prolonged post-monsoon rains affected us. We wouldn’t be able to cultivate crystal salt for more than six months this year.” Traditional salt farmers of the Rann make crystal salt, called Vadagaru, or Poda which takes six months to take the shape of full size crystal to fetch price of up to 24 paisa per kg.

Surani continued, “This time rainfall continued for quite some time. The Rann got filled up with much more water than what we required. Block officials, activists working with the agariyas, belonging to the Agariya Heet Rakshak Manch (AHRM), and community leaders had to work overtime to evacuate them from the Rann.
 

These agariyas had already made their makeshift huts, a temporary shelter during their stay in the Rann . But as water levels increased, they were in a dire straits. The whole area got flooded. It was impossible to keep their utensils, blankets, grocery, everything, safe. They had to leave the Rann immediately. They had to walk several kilometres through water with muddy and slippery ground to reach their villages safe. 
 

 

Their woes did not end here. Narmada department engineers conveyed to the agariyas that they too would release extra water into the Rann from the Narmada branch canal. They wanted to ensure that the agariya are not trapped, hence they contacted agariya leaders and AHRM team members.

Agariyas told the engineers it was not a good idea to release Narmada water into the Rann. One of the leaders told a senior Narmada engineer, “If Narmada water is released, we will not be able to go into the Rann for another 20 days and continue with salt cultivation.” They were not sure if Narmada officials would listen to their plight.
 

Meanwhile, water level in some parts of Santalpur and Visanagar Rann started rising. This could happen only if water was being released from the Narmada branch canal. One official confided to an agariya leader off the record, had they not released it, the poorly constructed canal’s safety would be at stake.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat government announced compensation for farmers for crop damage due to heavy rainfall this season. However, the salt producers were at a loss: They wouldn’t be getting any of it. 
 

Rued an agariya leader, “Each agariya has suffered huge losses. We have been cultivating salt in Survey No Zero – as the land on which the saltpans are situated is known — for centuries. No doubt, the government has reaches us with water supply, education, mobile health van, spending huge amount for welfare and development. But when it comes to compensation for our losses, we do not exist”.
 

 

“If you look at the past 10 years, every year either agariyas are at a loss due to unseasonal rains, or due to sudden release of Narmada water. Agariyas have been demanding compensation. Sometimes officials do conduct survey and seek details. But no compensation is ever paid”, said Harinesh Pandya, trustee, AHRM, which has been working with the agariya community for the last 15 years.

“On one hand, despite salt farming for decades and centuries, they are deprived of their land use rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA).

On the other, they are excluded from any protection mechanism like compensation or insurance cover. How can the state behave like this? Why can’t it come up with a fair policy to protect salt farmers? After all they contribute 1/5th of the total salt produced in Gujarat,” he added.

The present and the future of over 8,000 agariya families from nearly 110 villages of Surendranagar, Patan, Morbi and Kutch districts is at stake. Nature and government both are unkind to agariyas, leaving them at the receiving end.
—
*With Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, Ahmedabad

Courtesy: counterview.net

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Image Courtesy: PTI

Deadly Flooding in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
Thousands Displaced by Floods in Rajasthan
45,000 Displaced by Floods in Madhya Pradesh
Heavy Rain and Floods Cause Major Disruption in Mumbai
More Flooding in Odisha after 600mm of Rain in 24 Hours
Airport Closed, 20,000 Evacuated as Floods Hit Kerala

These glaring headlines making the news portray just some of the flood disasters that have taken place in India this year.

Just in the past week alone, at least 21 people were killed and nine others were stated to be missing after Pune and neighboring areas were hit by heavy rain and flash floods. Floodwaters swept across the Pune-Bengaluru highway and washed away cars. Around 150 homes had been damaged and more than 28,000 people across the state of Maharashtra were evacuated from their homes and housed in temporary camps.

In June 2019, over 700 people had been moved to relief camps in the state of Assam, after flooding caused by the overflowing Brahmaputra, Barak and Jia Bhoreli rivers. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), till 26 June 2019, flooding had affected around 5,000 people in 12 villages.

A red alert was issued in Assam on 15 July as 4,300,000 people across 30 of the state’s 33 districts were affected by floods. 15 have died and 80,000 were sheltering in 494 camps. There are still serious issues and complaints about inadequate rehabilitation with relation to the Assam floods.

Twelve districts in Bihar were badly affected by floods. A total of 2,000,000 people had been affected and 1,100,000 people displaced by the flood waters in 55 blocks in nine out of the 12 affected districts. September saw the second round of devastation in the state that had seen floods ravaging homes, villages and neighbourhoods in July, too. The state disaster management department had then said 82.12 lakh people under 1,241 panchayats of 106 blocks in the 13 districts have been affected by the flood and relief and rehabilitation work is going on in full swing.

In July 2019, heavy rainfall caused the breach of the Tiware Dam in Maharashtra, resulting in 18 deaths.

As of August 2, 2019, national authorities reported 5 fatalities in Vadodara City (Gujarat State), and over 5,700 evacuated as Vishwamitri river breached its banks and flooded the area.

It was also reported on August 10, 2019 that incessant rains coupled with the strong wind in Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra led to 76 deaths. Localised flooding also was reported from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. In Kerala, 40 people were feared to be trapped under debris after a major landslide occurred in Malappuram district.

Torrential rains also triggered flash floods in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarkhand. At least 23 people had been killed in Himachal Pradesh, while 3 died and 22 were missing following a cloudburst in Uttarakhand. Over 670 roads, including 13 national highways were blocked across Himachal Pradesh, which received 1,065% higher than normal ‘single day rainfall’ on 18 August. Uttarakhand recorded a surplus of 159% in 24 hours with water, electricity and communication facilities being affected.

Punjab, which is popularly called the food bowl of India, had also been hit hard by the recent floods. The situation in parts of Punjab and Haryana remained grim, prompting the Punjab government to declare the flood situation in the affected villages of the state a natural calamity.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued more than 4,000 people from flood waters in Patna two days ago.

Voices of the Stranded
“Water enters our houses and destroys everything. We stay in the same difficult situation without food and water. If someone falls sick, women suffer in labour pain or someone gets in serious condition, we call people and wait for them for help. Every year we face these challenges”, shared Pabitra Chetri from Dejoo Sapori village under North Lakhimpur district of Assam.

Ravi Ranjan, who lives in Kankarbagh, in Patna, said, “Everything is under water, there is only water everywhere, all the cars are submerged, all the schools and offices are closed because of this rain. We can’t go out we can only see water everywhere.”

Another flood victim in Hamirpur’s Kuchecha village, 65-year-old Ram Sakhi told India Today TV that houses and crops of all the residents, including her, in the village have been damaged due to the floods. She said “no one is there” to help the flood-affected residents in the village.

Another survivor, Brajesh, said, “There is no route to enter these villages and even the boats cannot go due to the strong flow of water from both Yamuna and Betwa rivers. Crops have been damaged here and most of the people living in these villages have been shifted to other areas with their belongings and cattle.”
Akan Gowala, 30, and seven family members spent 27 days in a relief camp in the Jamuguri area of flood-ravged Golaghat. “My house is half-buried in slush”, he said racked by fever, cough and a skin infection.

Why Did the Flash Floods Happen in India?
The timeline of extreme natural calamities started from May when a powerful cyclone roared through Odisha with wind speeds of up to 130 mph. It was the most dangerous storm in recent years.

Weather website El Dorado said that out of the 15 places that had received the most rainfall across the globe on the day of August 11, eight were in India. Naliya, a town in Gujarat, received a record 10.3 inch rainfall, followed by Okha (Gujarat, 6.54 inch), Rajkot (Gujarat, 5.83 inch), Mahabaleshwar (Maharashtra, 5.59 inch), Cochin (Kerala, 4.97 inch), Alappuzha (Kerala, 4.45 inch) and Kozhikode (Kerala, 4.57 inch).

Scientists say that the effects of such events would be higher in the future due to the loss of natural infrastructure as well as the ever-expanding human settlements. Multi-decade rain deficit to rising temperatures have shaken up the usual weather patterns. The ministry of earth sciences, India, has also confirmed that the year 2018 was the sixth warmest year on record since nation-wide records commenced in 1901. However, it was lower than the warmest year of 2016.

According to the report by the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment (INCCA), in its sectoral and regional analysis for the 2030s, rise in temperatures would increase flood events in frequency during the end of the century. The report stated, Temperatures in the Himalayan region are projected to rise up to 2.6 degrees Celsius and also increase in intensity by 2-12 per cent by 2030s. This will result in increased flash floods events leading to large scale landslides and loss of agriculture area affecting food security.

The trend of deficient rainfall and floods has been a worrying one.

According to the IMD, on July 6, when Baksa district in Assam was flooding, the deficit in North East was 38 per cent.

From June 20 to June 26, Mumbai had received only 8.4 mm rainfall, a deficit of 95 per cent. But, extreme rainfall in the last week of June caused floods in the city.

Kerala, which experienced floods killing more than 500 people, last year also faced a dormant monsoon before the rains began, which did not stop for almost two weeks.

Global rainfall data for over the last century also shows an alarming trend. While the number of rainy days is decreasing, intense rainfall events of 10 – 15 centimeter per day are increasing. This means that more amount of water is pouring down in a lesser time.

How is the increase in the frequency of extreme events sustained despite a weakened monsoon circulation and a decrease in the number of depressions over central India?

Widespread extreme rain events over Central India have increased three-fold in the 66-year period between 1950 and 2015, showed a study published in the journal Nature Communications. Inferring from a few studies, the report states that the rise in extreme rainfall events over central India is due to an increase in the moisture content, which they link to the rapid warming of the Indian Ocean. Other studies suggest that the local surface warming of the Indian subcontinent and the corresponding rise in humidity levels have a role in the increasing frequency of events.

What Does the Future Hold for Us?
It is a gross and devastating irony that people praying for some rainfall all over the country, were soon reeling under a deluge.

Extreme events may be the most tangible and immediate impact of climate change, but another more long-term and equally dangerous effect is rising temperatures. If climate change continues unhindered, then average temperatures in India could reach as high as 29.1° C by the end of the century (up from 25.1° C currently).

A region’s vulnerability to temperature changes depends on several factors such as access to infrastructure (electricity, roads and water connections) and dependence on agriculture. According to the World Bank, central districts in India are the most vulnerable to climate change because they lack the infrastructure and are largely agrarian. Within this region, the districts in Maharasthra’s Vidarbha region are particularly susceptible to climate change damage.

Climate change has also manifested itself in the form of extreme temperatures. In cities, which are epicenters of economic activity, rising temperatures can increase the spread of diseases and hurt productivity. And, in coastal cities, climate change-induced rising sea levels also pose an additional threat through more frequent flooding.

Despite significant outlay on flood control, flood protection and catchment protection works, it has been found that there is no complete solution to providing total protection. Flood cushions in the reservoirs and flood embankments have provided good solutions for recurring floods and have provided relief to large-scale flood damage.
 
 

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The southern areas of the Kaveri basin reported a 28% rainfall deficiency and central areas 22%, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). But August recorded a 102% “large excess”.

“The amount of rainfall that Karnataka receives over four months was received in two months this time,” said Sekhar Muddu, professor, Department of Civil Engineering & Interdisciplinary Centre for Water Research (ICWaR), at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru.

Precipitation anomaly in the Kaveri basin, June 2019. Credit: Raj Bhagat Palanichamy

Precipitation anomaly in the Kaveri basin, July 2019. Credit: Raj Bhagat Palanichamy

Precipitation anomaly in the Kaveri basin, August 2019. Credit: Raj Bhagat Palanichamy

“June and July pointed at drought-like situations for the Kaveri,” said Raj Bhagat Palanichamy, a GIS (geographic information system) and remote sensing analyst with World Resources Institute (WRI), India. “And a single event [rainfall in August] filled all the dams in the basin.

Farmers cannot be prepared for such extremes.”

Core catchment areas, Kodagu and Hassan, saw a huge fluctuation, he added. These sharp spikes were “problematic because the river originates in this area and its impacts are felt across the basin”, he said.

The rainfall anomaly in the Kaveri basin is part of a larger trend where climate change, along with factors such as rampant deforestation and developmental activities, results in spells of torrential rain interspersed with unusually dry periods. This rainfall pattern is affecting lives and livelihood in other parts of India as well, as IndiaSpend reported in May 2019 from Rajasthan.

Extreme rain events over central India tripled between 1950 and 2015, according to a 2017 study led by researchers at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, affecting about 825 million people, leaving 17 million homeless and killing about 69,000, as IndiaSpend reported in August 2018.

Low soil moisture in June, July

The Kaveri basin extends over an 85,000-sq km region–roughly 2.5% of the country’s total geographical area–and comprises areas that feed the river and its tributaries. The basin supports around 50 million people and irrigates an area of about 81,155 sq km across Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

The main reservoirs in the basin are Harangi, Kabini, Hemavathi and Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) in Karnataka and Mettur and Bhavani in Tamil Nadu.

The Kaveri Basin. Credit: India Water Portal

Around 66% of the Kaveri basin is covered by agricultural land, extending largely between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Overall, the Kaveri basin recorded a 5% excess rainfall this monsoon. All the reservoirs in the Karnataka part of the basin were at full capacity as on September 19, 2019, according to the Central Water Commission (CWC).

“The planting season for kharif crops in the Karnataka part of the basin begins between May and July. But in many places, the soil moisture content during this time was very low,” said Muddu of ICWaR. This content shows the spread of moisture across the region and is indicative of current rainfall patterns.

Soil moisture in June 2019. Credit: Sekhar Muddu

Soil moisture in July 2019. Credit: Sekhar Muddu

Soil moisture in August 2019. Credit: Sekhar Muddu

“June and July were very dry,” said Shantakumar, president of the State Farmers’ Federation, a collective of farmer welfare organisations in Karnataka. “Our farmers did not cultivate crops during these months.”

Sowing of crops like paddy, sugarcane and ragi was thus pushed to end-August across Mandya, Mysore, Chamarajnagar, Madikeri and Hassan. “Because of late cultivation, there was a loss of yield of about 25%,” he said.

Vegetation anomaly in June 2019. Credit: Raj Bhagat Palanichamy

Vegetation anomaly in July 2019. Credit: Raj Bhagat Palanichamy

Mature crops were affected too

Delayed rainfall also affected crops that were planted during earlier seasons.

“A lot of the sugarcane that was planted last year and was ready for harvest around June dried up because there was no rainfall,” said K S Sudhir Kumar, a farmer from Mandya, who is also the secretary of Akhanda Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha, a farmers’ association. “And because we did not see any rainfall, we did not plant crops for the next season [June and July, 2019].”

In Tamil Nadu’s Kaveri basin areas, since the state receives its rainfall largely between October and December, it is too early to make an assessment, Muddu said. Though the current soil moisture maps show low moisture content over the Kaveri basin in Tamil Nadu, this may not signify an impending drought or poor yield because the state’s agriculture banks largely on the October-December rainfall, he explained.

The heavy August rainfall caused flooding in certain farmlands and many farmers also lost their homes, Shantakumar said. Around 76 people died in Karnataka in these floods, according to latest reports.

While the heavy downpour during August filled many reservoirs to capacity, it did not alleviate the groundwater stress caused by deficient rainfall in the two preceding months.

Loss of vegetation cover and climate change

“Climate change, along with loss of vegetational cover, is causing flash floods and this is preventing rainwater from seeping into the ground,” said T V Ramachandra, coordinator for the Energy and Wetlands Research Group, IISc. “For any catchment to retain water, green cover is needed.”

Vegetation, especially that comprising native species, allows water to percolate. “And this is how groundwater gets recharged,” Ramachandra explained. “So, when the monsoons recede, the water stored in these underground layers will flow into rivers and streams and this is how we get water throughout the year.”

Vegetational cover across the basin had declined over the last few decades, Ramachandra added. “The green cover over the Kaveri basin was 20% in 1965. Today it is around 13%,” he said. The Kaveri basin had 35,020 sq km of dense vegetation cover in 1965. This stood reduced to 22,747.17 sq km as of 2016, according to the analysis conducted by Ramachandra and his team.

The amount of degraded vegetational cover over the same area has also decreased from 21,369 sq km to 7,915.91 sq km between 1965 and 2016, the team concluded.

Note: Figures in sq km

“Catchment integrity is crucial in managing a river basin,” Ramachandra said. “Firstly, we need to maintain green cover–with native species–over catchment areas. Secondly, there is water mismanagement because of inappropriate cropping patterns–the growing of sugarcane over dry areas that could previously only support the production of millets, pulses and groundnuts.”

“Climate change is aggravating the problems that are caused by these factors,” Ramachandra said.
(Pardikar is an independent journalist based in Bengaluru.)

Courtesy: India Spend

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Adding to the woes of drought-hit Maharashtra, where almost 60% of the state is reeling under extreme water scarcity, the state’s agriculture department has issued an advisory for the farmers warning against a possible delay in monsoon. The department has suggested the farmers to start sowing and other related works under the direction of the meteorological department. The state was expecting the start of monsoon by June 8 but with updated details, it may get delayed till as late as June 15.

The lack of drinking water is the biggest issue for entire Marathwada, North Maharashtra and western Vidarbha region. Several parts of Western Maharashtra (Jat, Aatpadi, Khatav, Man, Sangola area) are also facing severe water shortage. The reports from only North Maharashtra region suggests that the number of water tankers being provided by the state government has increased by almost six folds compared to last year.

This year, almost 1,200 tankers have been running in this region. At the state level, the number of tankers goes up to 6,300. Even then, there are serious complaints from various corners of the state about tanker shortage.

Reserved water in the dams of the state has gone down to 13% till May 28. Marathwada is the worst affected region in the state where the only 2.9% of water stock is left in different reservoirs. The state’s irrigation officials are suggesting that in almost 45 dams of the state, the level has gone down to 0%. Now, it will have to lift water from dead stock if needed.

There are around 1,500 cattle camps being run in the state to help farmers to take care of their cattle. Almost 10.5 lakh cattle are kept in these camps. State government has released Rs 155 crore for the fodder camps across state.

The drought has affected the farmers the worst. The entire Rabi crop has been wasted. Soya bean and onions are the only two crops from which farmers were expecting a successful harvest this year. But the slashed rates of both has destroyed the hopes of farmers. In this backdrop, the state government has asked banks to provide crop loans to farmers, however, complaints about banks rejecting loan proposals are pouring in from entire Maharashtra.

There is also a buzz in the state that ahead of Assembly elections, the Maharashtra government may come up with the farm loan waiver scheme once again and that this time, entire loans will be waived off, as demanded by many farmer organisations. The state budget session is set to start from June 17. The full budget will be presented on June 18. If the loan waiver is announced in this budget session, it will prove as a great relief for the farmers struggling against drought.

The drought is also affecting the consumer markets in cities like Mumbai and Pune. The flow of wheat and rice has gone down in Mumbai. Till last month, around 1,700 to 1,800 tons of wheat was coming into Mumbai market. Now it has reduced to 400 to 600 tons. On the other hand, people have started stocking Jowar ahead of the rainy season. This has increased the Jowar inflow to market to almost 100 to 200 tons, leading to a rise in the rates, upto Rs 27 to 40.

Another impact is that power generation from Koyana dam has stopped due to depleting water level. The capacity of the dam is around 105 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) but currently it has just 12 % of the water stock. This has forced the state government’s power generation company to shut down the hydropower project, which in turn has reduced almost 1,000 MW power from the state’s generation capacity. The power department is claiming that it will not affect the state in terms of power load shedding as thermal power projects are running in full capacity.

Meanwhile, the opposition and farmers’ organisations are slamming the state government for lack of management to face the drought. “The entire state machinery was used for elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government is more worried about power than people’s issues. So, from tanker management to fodder camps, there are a number of issues in every tehsil. The government’s complete inability to handle the crisis stands exposed now,” said Dr Ajit Nawale, General Secretary of All India Kisan Sabha.

Courtesy: News Click

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Mumbai rains flooded the city for a week, leaving thousands helpless while building collapsed killing dozens on August 31th. PUNIT PARANJPE / AFP

And the city of Mumbai was hit by another major flooding espisode. Several people have died in the city, many in the collapse of a four-storey building that is believed to have been weakened by the rains.
 

Overcrowded cities

Such loss of life in urban areas is often blamed on India’s overcrowding. Cities are growing at unprecedented rates. From a population of 2.86 million in 1950, Mumbai is now home to more than 21 million people, and is expected to have almost 28 million by 2030.
Built along the coastline on a series of islands, the city is surrounded by water: in mudflats, lakes, creeks, rivers, and the ever-present coastline.

Given the astronomical land prices in many parts of Mumbai, and the extreme scarcity of land, it is no surprise that Mumbai has sacrificed its ecology for development. Real estate projects, industry, and state infrastructure (railways, roads and the city’s airport) have built over, and choked, the city’s water networks at various strategic points. Every monsoon, the city floods.

Mudflats, wetlands, floodplains, mangroves and wooded vegetation once slowed down the flow of storm water. The mangrove’s complex root systems and the branching architecture of trees acted as a natural barrier to reduce the force of water flow. But now, they are built over. Garbage spread everywhere clogs the waterways. Most channels and waterways that connect water bodies have been built over too, resulting preventing streams from easily reaching the sea – forcing it to spread out into the low lying areas of the city, adding to the severe flooding.

Mumbai’s extensive wetlands and mudflats, which had connected parts of the city since the early 19th century, have disappeared. Their presence would retain the rain water and soak it into the ground, recharging the wells and ground water table.

Today, with nothing but concrete all around, the city’s land surface does not allow water to soak into it. In especially intense periods of rain, the devastation is extreme – at least 5000 people are believed to have perished in the infamous floods of 2005, and the economic damage was estimated at 30 billion rupees (US$690m).
 

The need for introspection

After the 2005 floods, a committee constituted by the government investigated the reasons for the devastation, concluding that there was an urgent need to restore Mumbai’s wetlands and water systems. In 2007, the municipality formulated the Greater Mumbai Action Plan, which among other efforts had a major focus on the restoration of the city’s main river, the Mithi, which had become little more than a sewage channel in parts.

Yet around the same time, the chair of the committee overseeing the plan, water expert Madhav Chitale spoke publicly about the lack of progress in implementing its recommendations. He said that the city lacked basic topographic data which were essential to build pathways for rainwater flow – which could have prevented flooding in subsequent rains.

Malad creek, suburban Mumbai, 2010. Ravi Khemka/Flickr, CC BY-SA

In recent years, climate scientists, urban specialists and civic society groups warned repeatedly that Mumbai was heading for another heavy flood. A combination of the greater likelihood of high rainfall events because of climate change, and an even more inadequately prepared city, created a situation ripe for a disaster in the making. These warnings came true this monsoon season.

Mumbai’s planners know that climate change is leading to increased likelihood of extreme rainfall, and that restoration of the city’s wetland, river and floodplain networks is central to flood control. Yet the rush to develop construction projections in the city has often disregarded these factors. Money cannot replace nature in cities. A careful reading of Indian urban history shows that cities have historically grown with nature providing a support system. When this system is eroded – as is seen in so many Indian cities today, including in Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai – the very survival of the city is placed in question.

The story of Mumbai today is a reflection of the ills that plague many Indian cities – and those in other parts of the world as well, such as Miami and Houston. In a wetter future, it is clearer than ever that cities need ecology to grow.

Harini Nagendra, Professor of Sustainability, Azim Premji University
 

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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