One little spell of rain and Panaji buckles like a newbie batter facing the fearsome pace of Dennis Lillee. Vehicles stuck in soil, sinkholes forming in roads, caved in footpaths, overflowing drains, sewage backflow, severe waterlogging, labourers dying by falling in unfenced excavation pits, collapsing infrastructure and what have you. Imagine if a brief downpour in the capital city wreaks such havoc what would the forthcoming monsoon do; the mind shudders to think. The CCP mayor made a perfunctory round of the city, washed his hands off the whole affair and promptly blamed the Imagine Smart City officials (who in turn blamed the contractors) for the whole imbroglio. Where the hell does the buck stop? Zilch accountability, a criminal waste of taxpayer's money, pernicious corruption and apathy have been the hallmarks of the purported 'smart cities' endeavour all across India, not one such city has been completed. Almost Rs1,000 crore of public funds have been spent on smartening up Panaji and instead of progressing forward it has regressed to the stone age. To rub salt in our wounds, hollow announcements are being made that the works shall be completed by May 31.
