Delhi Coaching Centre Flooding Kills 3: Why Are Our Cities Such A Civic Mess?

"Living a life of hell..." was the plaintive cry of a student who has written to Chief Justice DY Chandrachud to demand action against city officials and others responsible for the deaths last week of three fellow students, who drowned in the flooded basement of a coaching centre in east Delhi. The student flagged poor infrastructure in areas like Rajendra Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar, residents of which often battle floods caused by drainage issues and "negligence" by the Municipal Corporation, and asked for protection of students' fundamental rights. It's the same problem we face across Delhi - year after year. Why are our cities such a mess?