Mithi River Breaches Danger Mark, Floods Mumbai Suburbs

According to the latest reports, on August 21, 2025, the Mithi River in Mumbai did what the city had long feared - it pushed back. After five days of relentless rain, the river surged to a dangerous level of 3.9 meters, breaching the Central Railway's 2.7-meter danger mark and submerging tracks, paralyzing train services for over eight hours.

The timing of the flood couldn't have been worse, as a high tide at 9:16 am blocked the floodwaters from draining into the Arabian Sea, forcing the river to back up onto the streets. The overflow inundated parts of Kurla, Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), and Santacruz, with LBS Road, Taximen's Colony, and Kapadia Nagar among the worst-hit areas.

This crisis has been decades in the making. For years, the Mithi River has been treated more like a dumping ground than a natural waterway, choked with untreated sewage, industrial effluents, plastic waste, and construction debris. According to experts, around 70% of the liquid in the Mithi is sewage, 30% is garbage, and 10% is industrial discharge.

Despite the warning signs, the authorities have failed to address the river's deterioration. Encroachments, land reclamation, and unchecked expansion of the city have all contributed to the Mithi's steady decline. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the official guardian of the river, has spent over ₹2,000 crore on dredging the Mithi, but the efforts have been sabotaged by corruption and apathy.

As the city grapples with the aftermath of the flood, it is clear that Mumbai is facing the consequences of its own neglect. The Mithi River disaster is not a natural calamity, but a man-made crisis, engineered by years of administrative apathy and the systematic dismantling of what was once a natural stormwater outlet.