India has a love-hate relationship with the monsoons. Every year the southwest monsoon winds bring with the bounty of nature as well as a trail of destruction. While the excess rainfall fills our water reserves, they also flood our roads and block our transport networks. Our streets turn into a sea of waste, debris and sewage on account of the waterlogging; making it a source of diseases and other health hazards.   

This year, the state of Maharashtra has already recorded 39 rain-related deaths from varying causes like floods, electrocution and wall collapses. Not only do the rains damage the integrity of already weakened buildings and structures, but also promote a host of diseases like malaria, dengue, chikungunya and zika virus and create a number of alarmingly dangerous situations, with the potential to rapidly become an emergency.