30 August,2017 07:36 PM IST | Mumbai | Asif Rizvi
Nearly 450 people in 68 buildings of Jai Bharat Housing Society in Khar West confined to their homes as water enters ground floor houses just like it happened during the July 26, 2005 deluge
Jai Bharat Society in Khar West
For the residents of the 65-building Jai Bharat Housing Society in Khar West, yesterday's downpour was like the deluge of July 26, 2005, all over again, with all the ground floor homes flooded by the rain water.
Rahul Pai, a businessman staying on the ground floor of one of the buildings told mid-day, "Today reminds me of the 2005 floods, when water had entered my house," said Pai. "The society is in a low-lying area and the BMC is well aware of it. In so many years nothing has been done to solve the water-logging problem. The furniture is all spoilt and my family and I are trying to save the electronics in the flat. Worse, we cannot even use the electricity as it is risky."
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Around 450 people living in the society faced a similar ordeal and have been marooned in their own homes. People who attempted to step out for work rushed back, looking at heavy water logging outside their buildings.
Dr. Atul Shah, who runs a clinic in the society, could not reach his clinic, which just 150 metres away from his flat.
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"I had to cancel 12 appointments and I have been coordinating with patients on my cell phone," said Shah. "In addition there is no electricity in my house, which is submerged in water completely. It has been a permanent problem every year and we have also informed the elected representatives and civic officials about. But nothing has been done. We now call our society the âKhar Lake'. I have a mother who is 95 years old and needs care."
Water-logging inside the house of a resident in Jai Bharat Housing Society in Khar West
Worsening the problem, all the buildings have underground water tanks and the residents now fear that the flood waters will contaminate their drinking water.
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Surinder Khubchandani, another resident, said, "The water in the tanks is contaminated due to water logging in the buildings. Moreover, we are worried about water-borne diseases like dengue and malaria."
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