Opposition legislators on Monday took to the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai, alleging that "Inframan" had gone missing as they blamed the Maharashtra government for failing to protect people amid the heavy rains.
They said the heavy downpour over the past few days exposed "crumbling infrastructure" across Mumbai and other parts of the state.
Senior Congress leaders Satej Patil and Vijay Wadettiwar, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Ambadas Danve and other Opposition members participated in the demonstration, saying poor infrastructure management had severely affected the lives of common people during the ongoing spell of heavy rain.
The legislators, without taking any names, raised slogans claiming that "Inframan" had disappeared, while accusing the government of endangering the lives of Mumbaikars.
On June 10 last year, the chief minister's office shared a newspaper report on Facebook with the caption, "Infra Man: Maharashtra's Next-Gen Urban and Transport Landscape!", referring to Devendra Fadnavis.
They also shouted slogans saying that Mumbai had come to a standstill after the first spell of rain of this monsoon, and hit out at the government over deaths linked to open manholes and other civic infrastructure failures.
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar alleged that the recent rain-related deaths in Mumbai reflected the failure of the state government and civic administration to protect people.
Referring to the chawl collapse that claimed six lives, Wadettiwar said it was not an isolated accident but the result of negligence in dealing with old and dangerous structures.
The government must explain whether the building had been declared unsafe and, if so, why residents were not shifted to a safer place, he said.
People should not have to pay with their lives because of administrative lapses, he said.
Congress MLA Amin Patel admonished the BJP government and BMC for failing to prevent the death of 10 people in the few days of incessant rain that Mumbai had been facing.
"BMC indulged in corruption for several years, and that is the reason for the death of 10 people in rain-related accidents," he said.
"...The IMD had predicted the likelihood of such heavy rainfall. So, what preparations were made? This is a total failure of governance, whether on the part of the Municipal Corporation or the government,” Congress MLC Satej (Bunty) Dnyandeo Patil was quoted as saying to ANI: “Mumbai is an international city. It is discussed across the globe... yet we cannot even save Mumbai. How will they run the government?"
NCP SP Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule urged chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to issue a detailed statement on the Missing Link project on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
Traffic on both the Pune-Mumbai Expressway and the old Pune-Mumbai highway was suspended on Monday following heavy rainfall, flooding and landslides.
According to the police, the Pune-Mumbai Expressway was closed between the Connecting Link and Missing Link sections after a concrete pillar fell on the carriageway.
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway Missing Link, opened two months ago, is a 13-km bypass that cuts through the Sahyadri mountains, reducing travel distance by 6 km and saving 25 to 30 minutes of commute time.
"The chief minister should make a proper statement. Was there a thorough assessment of the Missing Link bridge and how much of a problem it may face during heavy rainfall? I appeal to the chief minister to make a statement about it as soon as possible," Sule told reporters.
The NCP SP leader said she would not comment on allegations of corruption at this stage but maintained that the actual cost of the project should be made public.
Public anger over the disruption was justified, she said, saying that despite the government's focus on infrastructure, a single spell of heavy rain had paralysed the state.
"Connectivity between Mumbai and Pune has been affected. There is no certainty whether MLAs can reach Mumbai to attend the legislative session. All three roads -- Tamhini Ghat, the old Mumbai-Pune highway and the Missing Link on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway -- are closed. This is just the beginning of the monsoon, and it has already affected the state," Sule said.