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Mumbai rains: Social media, local heroes save the day

With the administration busy playing blame games, it is the locals who have turned heroes during the time of distress. 

Published: 30th August 2017 04:56 PM  |   Last Updated: 30th August 2017 05:41 PM   |  A+A A-

People walk through a waterlogged street following heavy rains in Mumbai. (Photo | AP)

People walk through a waterlogged street following heavy rains in Mumbai. (Photo | AP)

With Mumbai slowly starting to breathe a sigh of relief after heavy rains lashed the city, humanitarian acts of kindness during the time of disaster are beginning to surface.

With the administration busy playing blame games, it is the locals who have turned heroes during the time of distress. 

Heavy waterlogging following the torrential downpour had people having to manoeuvre their way through knee-deep to neck-deep water levels to safety. In many areas, water had entered homes and offices. 

With such a situation at hand, the humanitarian side of man came to the fore with people opening up their houses for the stranded lot. As witnessed during the Chennai floods, social media was put to efficient use with people tweeting about the availability of shelter and food. This started trending on Twitter as #rainhosts. 

Information of people who were willing to host fellow Mumbaikars was collated into a spreadsheet and shared on social media sites.

Industrialist Anand Mahindra shared about how his friend who was stuck in a car was helped by slum dwellers.

Some organisations also came to the rescue of their fellow citizens offering food, shelter and other necessary help. 

A Mumbaikar, Rupali Madhukar, shared with us that she was stuck in a cab for almost four hours near the Bombay Dyeing area with heavy water logging worsened by trees fallen on the road bringing traffic to a standstill. 

Listen to Rupali Madhukar's ordeal during the Mumbai rains

Another Mumbai resident, Althea D'Souza, narrated her ordeal of having to travel from Churchgate, in Fort Precinct to her Aunt's place in Lower Parel. Wading through waist high water which even reached the neck at places, it took Althea almost 4 and a half hours to reach her destination which during a normal day she would reach in 20 minutes. She praised the local heroes for helping her out in such a time of need.

Listen to Althea D'Souza narrates her experience of a four and a half hour travel in the Mumbai rains

Many people have been tweeting about acts of kindness shown by many in the city.

The Indian Navy and Mumbai police were also seen working tirelessly on the field to help the stranded distributing water and food.

Religious institutions have also lent out a helping hand to those affected by the Mumbai rains.

Though the city is slowly limping its way back to normalcy, the rains have brought back the country's largest municipal corporation under the scanner and the administration will be expected to offer an explanation. But for now, it is the local heroes and the Spirit of Mumbai which deservedly is receiving a lot of praise from the whole country.

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