Mumbai:
Heavy monsoon rainfall affected Mumbai and its suburbs – as it does every year – on Wednesday, leading to flooded roads, traffic jams, and disruptions to the critical commuter rail network. The city’s civic body said some areas received over 330 mm of rainfall in 24 hours; the Malvani neighbourhood recorded a staggering 340 mm in that time, and Parel 334 mm.
The weather department has predicted more moderate to heavy rain.
Alongside the monsoon disruption came a political storm.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray criticised the ruling Mahayuti – which includes the Eknath Shinde-led Sena faction that poached six Thackeray Sena MPs – for prioritising political gain over governance.
In a sharp post on X this morning, Aaditya Thackeray accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government of having “drained the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) of its funds”. The ruling party, he said, had opted against building rainwater tanks as advised by the previous government – the Thackeray Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi.
Another reminder to the government to focus on governance instead of only focussing on dirty politics
🚨 Rain Water Holding Tanks 🚨
Mumbai needs to be a sponge city: in 2018-19 through the @mybmc we started working on rainwater holding tanks that will prevent water logging in…
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) June 24, 2026
“This is needed for a coastal city like ours,” he said, referring to pumping stations and increasing the diameter of stormwater drains. “From 2020 to 2022, when the MVA controlled the Mumbai civic body, we proved its worth at Hind Mata…”
RECAP | Wall Collapses, Trees Uprooted, Car Crushed: Mumbai Monsoon Rain Mayhem
“But now they don’t even operate the pumps and holding tanks properly anymore to ensure the area remains flood-free, despite a system already in place,” said Thackeray, the Worli MLA.
Thackeray was not the only opposition leader to speak out.
Veteran politician Sharad Pawar, whose Nationalist Congress Party is part of the Thackeray Sena-led MVA, said the civic body had been caught “completely unprepared” for the rain.
“There are serious doubts over the BMC’s governance. The focus should be on civic issues rather than the breaking of parties,” he said, echoing Aaditya Thackeray’s criticism over the poaching of MPs.
