"We expected some of their (Reliance Energy) officials to turn up today but no one has come. Even the media is shying away from us. No one is writing about the tragedy that has struck us. However, they are interested in the neighbouring Air-India colony where rich and middle class people stay," alleged local resident Yunus Patel.

The residents of Kurla were among those who suffered most in last week's rains because of two factors. First, the Mithi river, that extends from the Powai lake in northwest Mumbai to Mahim Creek in northcentral Mumbai, rose above the danger level and engulfed Kurla. Second, the congestion of gutters and sewage lines caused by the Santacruz-Chembur road link project prevented the rain water from receding.

"They are building bridges over our heads but they have forgotten sewage sytem in the process," says Salim Mansuri, the furniture shop owner quoted in the previous slide. "Water has receded everywhere else in Mumbai, except in Kurla. They have no planning. They are constructing this bridge but have forgotten to build gutters, therefore, there is choking of water,"

Also See: Mumbai: Coping with calamity