The Metro III work on in the city has already resulted in a large number of trees being hacked, figures show that more than 5,000 trees are going to be sacrificed for progress. Now, the project is all set to also create more than two dozen flood-prone locations where workers are digging the underground stations. Meanwhile, BMC officials are upset that their efforts to control flooding will be nullified as Metro workers have choked drainage lines, with no other arrangements to drain out the rainwater.

One cannot fathom why the BMC and Metro authorities did not coordinate prior to the monsoon about the problems this work was going to cause and how they could find a solution. It is no use waking up to this now, with the rains already upon us. This required co-ordination and communication at least a month ago. Today, it has become a case of finger pointing, instead of looking for solutions.