BMC's promises down the drain
"We survived the deluge of 2005 but are still worried about this year." The fear, voiced by many citizens, is an apt comment on how ill-prepared the civic administration is to deal with the rains. With just weeks to go before the onset of the monsoon, contractors appointed by the BMC to clean the nullahs (drains) have completed barely 20% of the work. Although the civic administration had fixed a deadline of May 31, it has now been forced to extend it to June 8. The contract to clean the nullahs is worth Rs 72 crore and work has been spread out over two years.