The next time you see a flooded underpass on your screen, I want you to see a lost opportunity—a reservoir that got away
By NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044
We’ve all seen the same frustrating footage on the news, year after year, monsoon after monsoon. The dreaded underpass flood. A car is submerged, a city’s economic artery is blocked, and commuters are left stranded for hours. As the Chairman of Global TV, I have watched this story become a depressing seasonal ritual. But as a concerned citizen, I am convinced we are looking at this problem all wrong.
The water that brings our cities to a grinding halt is not a problem; it is a resource delivered to the wrong address. And the solution is not just about draining it away faster, but about harvesting it smarter.
Let me be clear: the issue is not a lack of engineering knowledge. The issue is a lack of perspective. Our underpasses are, by design, the lowest points in the city. When the rains come, gravity does its job, channeling thousands of liters of precious freshwater into these concrete basins. Our current response is to treat this water like waste, pumping it into already overwhelmed drains that eventually dump it, polluted, into the sea. We are literally watching our life-giving water flow away, while we complain about the traffic.
This is a profound waste, and it is a waste we can no longer afford.
My suggestion is straightforward and turns the entire challenge on its head: Let us convert every critical underpass into a major rainwater harvesting zone.
Imagine this: Instead of allowing water to pool dangerously, we proactively channel the initial runoff through a network of grates and pipes directly to a strategically constructed recharge well in a nearby area. This isn’t science fiction; it’s simple, proven hydrology.
The system would work in three stages:
- Diversion: Capture the water before it floods the underpass.
- Filtration: Pass it through a silt trap to remove debris and pollutants.
- Recharge: Guide this now-cleaner water into a deep well, allowing it to percolate down and replenish our desperately depleted groundwater aquifers.
The benefits are a dual victory for urban living:
It Solves the Flooding: By diverting a significant volume of water, we dramatically reduce waterlogging, keeping traffic moving and our cities safe.
It Secures Our Water Future: Every well directly counters the alarming drop in groundwater levels, increasing our city’s water security for the future.
The cost of inaction is in lost productivity, vehicle damage, and public health risks. All these far outweighs the initial investment in these harvesting structures. This is not an expense; it is a critical investment in our city’s future.
From my chair at Global TV, I believe in the power of spotlighting solutions, not just problems. We will continue to report on the traffic jams, but we will also champion the answers. I call upon our municipal corporations, our urban planners, and my fellow citizens to demand a shift in strategy.
Let us identify the top five most problematic underpasses and implement this as a pilot project. Let us transform these symbols of urban failure into beacons of sustainable management.
We have the capability. What we need is the will. The next time you see a flooded underpass on your screen, I want you to see a lost opportunity; a reservoir that got away. Together, we can turn that around.
NV Paulose
Chairman, Global TV
+91 98441 82044
