Mumbai's coastal highway is a disaster in the making: Amitav Ghosh citing reports of water leakage within a few months of inauguration

A report by Hindustan Times claimed there is already a leakage in the tunnel while monsoon is still a couple of weeks away from now.

"On Monday evening, water could be seen dripping from the roof of the tunnels, while the walls had many dark spots where paint had chipped off due to the dampness," the report says.

"Drip lines had formed from the dark spots till the floor, while the periphery of the holes were visibly damp. Water had pooled on the coastal road towards the Marine Drive-end of the tunnel, around 100 metres from its exit," it adds.

Reposting it, Ghosh wrote on his X handle, "Completely predictable. Mumbai's coastal highway is a disaster in the making. But some construction companies made a lot of money so how does it matter...?"

The Coastal Road, which is now partially opened, connects Worli to the Princess Street flyover. It was inaugurated on March 11.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday inspected the leakages amid worry for the Mumbaikars who are bracing the intense rainfall.

"There were leakages in two to three expansion joints of the coastal road, and they will be plugged using polymer grouting. I have suggested polymer grouting on all 25 joints on each side of the tunnel to avoid water seepage even during the monsoon," Shinde said as quoted by India Today.

Prior to his warning about the Coastal Road, Ghosh in his 2016 non-fiction book, titled The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable, had written about how the billboards would turn into deadly projectiles in Mumbai.

In an almost materialisation of his warning, 17 people lost their lives after a huge billboard near a petrol pump in Ghatkopar fell on them during a dust storm earlier this month.

On the same day, Ghosh had written on X, "In The Great Derangement I wrote that in the event of a major storm 'the thousands of billboards that encrust' Mumbai would turn 'into deadly projectiles'.

"The recent storm was nowhere near as damaging as a major cyclone would be. Mumbai really needs to cut back drastically on billboards."