Mumbai, May 26 (PTI) Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal slammed the state government and civic body after heavy rains on Monday morning affected road and rail traffic in the metropolis and asserted "massive corruption" had drowned the metropolis.
Streets, housing societies, railway tracks, underground metro line stations and hospitals have got waterlogged, for which Mumbaikars will not forgive this "corrupt gang", he said.
"The first heavy rains of the season exposed the corruption in the state government and municipal administration. Office-goers faced immense hardships commuting. Despite Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation spending crores of rupees annually on drain cleaning and pre-monsoon work, the situation remains the same every year," Sapkal claimed.
"Contractors and ruling parties are looting public funds, leading to the suffering of Mumbaikars. Just one spell of rain has brought Mumbai to a standstill, with streets resembling ponds. Waterlogging has paralyzed roads, housing societies, railway tracks, underground metro stations, and even hospitals. This single rain has exposed the massive corruption of the BJP, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP," he said.
Questioning where funds allocated for pre-monsoon works were going, Sapkal said the city's sorry state is due to the unholy nexus between "Mantralaya (state secretariat), BMC administration and contractors".
"In 2025-26, the BMC presented a budget of Rs 74,427 crore, which was 14.19 percent increase from the previous year, making it the largest in the civic body's history. Of this, Rs 5,100 crore was allocated to the Roads and Traffic Department, and Rs 5,545 crore to Sewage Treatment Projects. In 2024, Rs 249.27 crore was spent on nullah cleaning, while in 2025, Rs 395 crore was allocated for drain cleaning and silt removal from the Mithi River. Despite awarding contracts to 31 contractors, the drains remain uncleared," he alleged.
Instead of drains taxpayers' money was cleaned up from the treasury, he asserted.
The southwest monsoon made its onset over Mumbai on Monday, more than a fortnight before its normal date, with IMD officials saying it is the earliest arrival of rains in the country's financial capital in 75 years.
Between 8.30 am and 11.30 am, Colaba received 105.2 millimetres of rainfall, Santacruz (55 mm), Bandra (68.5 mm), Juhu Airport (63.5 mm), Chembur (38.5 mm), Vikhroli (37.5 mm), Mahalaxmi (33.5 mm) and Sion (53.5 mm), the IMD said.
According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the highest precipitation was recorded at Nariman Point Fire Station (104 mm) in the southern tip of the city, followed by A Ward Office (86 mm), Colaba pumping station (83 mm), and Municipal Head Office (80 mm) between 9 am and 10 am.