Crisis Cry: Awaiting Monsoon Part - 1
How can you avert a crisis you knew was coming? Set in Mumbai against the backdrop of the Indian general election, a story relevant to our current times.
Crisis Cry: Awaiting Monsoon Part - 1
When a place turns hostile, survival becomes the ultimate reality for its inhabitants.
In Mumbai, where seasons swing from scorching heat to pouring rains—enough to drown you in thirst or in its overflowing drains—everyone here seeks their own elusive space, a pursuit simple for some, yet difficult for the rest to face. Here lives Karan, ordinary in every way except one: he may hold the key to a question that haunts every intelligence agency—are they compromised? However, this story isn't about the answer to that question. It’s about a crisis he knew was coming and his efforts to avert it. The question is, can he?"
Days before the general elections, everyone at IB India was on edge. The stakes couldn’t be any higher, especially in Mumbai, the financial capital. The ruling party had to ensure Mumbai stayed aligned with them. Fortunes were at stake; any uncertainty here could spell disaster. Naturally, IB (Intelligence Bureau) India and SIB (Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau) Mumbai had to be aware of any development that might affect or influence the upcoming elections. Fearing they were compromised, they took a risky bet and started checking every piece of intel against Karan.
Let's say there were signs that during the upcoming summer, temperatures were going to be hot and the supply of water was going to be short. Reported and unreported shortages of water were occurring all over the country. Naturally, this was going to be part of the narrative for the elections. IB and SIB began investigating, finally checking them on Karan, determining who or what the people would blame for the water shortage. Karan, having faced water problems in the past and survived the COVID-19 crisis, felt strongly about helping and taking care of his own, like any other person would. As these issues were investigated, his awareness and interest in them increased.
Initially, Karan was just trying to find out if there were going to be water problems in his area. But as he looked into this, he realised there was going to be a crisis. A research paper from a top university had predicted record-breaking temperatures and heatwaves. Simultaneously, there was an ominous rise in the price of soft commodity futures, signalling that people in the financial world were already placing bets on this. Reported and unreported shortages of water were surfacing nationwide. Water levels were dropping to their lowest in a decade during that month, while consumption was rising. High temperatures and heat waves were forecasted by global and local weather forecasters. If all that was not bad enough, with only 30% of water reserves left, unevenly distributed across the country and expected to last until the monsoon rains, parts of the nation were in danger of facing an apocalyptic 'Day Zero,' where they would run out of water completely. A crisis was looming over the country during its elections. The question is, why was no one taking it seriously or doing anything about this?