The inadequacies of the city's drainage system were hopelessly exposed by nearly 15 hours of incessant downpour which made many a locality look like swamps in the midst of concrete structures. The natural drainage channels have been in a derelict state for a long time and the surface drains and storm sewers could not absorb the huge extra load of water due to severe structural limitations topped off by poor maintenance of whatever network we have.

The most worrisome part of it is that many residential areas have been developed without provision for linkage with the WASA's drainage system. So there is no outlet in these areas for rainwater, and water logging is the inevitable consequence. Developers seem to have paid little heed to the drainage needs of newly built-up areas. The strangulating situation can only worsen in the days ahead unless something extraordinary is done to ease it. Attempts are reportedly being made to build box culverts and link them to the WASA drainage network. But the question is: why did the planners fail to envisage such a solution beforehand? Planning solutions should be a matter of forethought rather than an afterthought.

People are apparently bracing themselves for another inclement rainy season when water logging may paralyse life for hours or even days together. A similar situation arose at least twice during the last monsoon. But precious little has been done since then to counter it.

The committees that are constituted in such situations have never provided the answer to the problem. The perfunctory exercise of setting up a committee and doing nothing thereafter have sadly typified our approach to a problem that has only aggravated by the year.

The causes behind water logging are well known and so are the remedies. The authorities concerned have to ensure that the drainage system covers the whole city and is allowed to work unobstructed.