Nagpur: In a scathing editorial, the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamana took Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to task, asserting that his touted “Nagpur development model” crumbled in the face of a mere four hours of rainfall.
The editorial, published on Tuesday, exposed what it deemed as the hollowness of Fadnavis’ claims of progress in Nagpur.
The editorial stated, “Devendra Fadnavis calls himself the ‘suputra’ (son) of Nagpur. In barely four hours of rain, Nagpur was drowned. His lies of development were exposed. The mask came off the face of self-appointed contractors of Nagpur… Will he and his parivaar now do some self-introspection.”
The incessant rainfall led to severe flooding in numerous low-lying areas of Nagpur, prompting the government to evacuate at least 400 individuals to safety on Saturday. Criticism was also directed at Fadnavis’ response to the crisis.
The editorial pointed out, “When flood-hit citizens of Nagpur were seeking help, Fadnavis was busy taking Ganesh darshan and holding closed-door meetings in Mumbai. After the damage was done, Fadnavis landed in his hometown. He met the flood-hit citizens, visited the affected areas, and made a promise of compensation… All this will happen, but as a government and trustee of Nagpur, whatever he has done, has been exposed by the flooding that took place in the city on Saturday.”
The piece further highlighted the unprecedented nature of the floods in Nagpur. “Actually, Nagpur has no history of such floods but in the last 30 years, the city has faced an emergency situation. Saturday was no different.
The flood exposed the fact that when the development plan of the city was being created, such natural disasters were not taken into account,” it stated.
Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut serves as the editor of Saamana. The editorial drew parallels to the challenges faced by Mumbai during heavy rains, with Fadnavis often pointing fingers at the Shiv Sena. “You promised boating in Nagpur’s Nag river. That same river has wrecked the lives of scores of citizens. In the same floods, your so-called development turned into mud. From the same mud, the ordinary citizens of Nagpur are trying to pick up pieces of their lives. Are you going to atone for this failure?”
The piece concluded by questioning Fadnavis’ development claims, stating, “Mumbai is a congested city, Nagpur is not. Still, your development model was swept away in Saturday’s floods… Who drowned Nagpur? That is the question every citizen of Nagpur is asking. Fadnavis should answer this question first and then talk big about Nagpur’s development,” the editorial said.
