BS EDIT: It’s raining crises

By Business StandardPublished On Sep 5, 2025

A recurring breakdown

Every monsoon, India’s largest cities—Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram—grind to a halt, exposing fragile infrastructure

Unplanned growth

Indiscriminate urbanisation has erased green belts and water bodies while drains remain clogged, leaving cities defenceless against floods

Climate change factor

Heavier, erratic rainfall and rising heat are amplifying urban flooding, making annual disruptions deadlier and costlier

Himalayan warning

Landslides in Uttarakhand and Himachal reveal the damage of unchecked construction on fragile terrain, worsening monsoon disasters

Infrastructure gap

Drainage and flood-control systems are outdated, unable to cope with sharp bursts of heavy rainfall that overwhelm cities each year

Time for action

Without superior monsoon-preparedness plans, India’s cities risk repeating this cycle of disruption, undermining the vision of Viksit Bharat