The Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) spans some 900 acres of marshland (part of the Mithi River basin, adjacent to the Vakola Canal and Mahim Creek) in the center of Mumbai. Developed over the past four decades to decongest pricey and overcrowded south Mumbai, the BKC area has seen significant growth of businesses and supporting transport infrastructures over the last 15 years as liberalization has spurred real estate markets. Today, BKC is home to numerous national and transnational corporate headquarters, including Dow, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, and the Indian stock exchange. The area plays a central role in ambitions to promote Mumbai as India’s premier finance capital. The final construction of the BKC, the International Financial Services Centre initiative in G-Block, was completed shortly before Mumbai’s devastating floods in the early 2000s The area was filled-in in violation of coastal protection protocols, endangering the flood ecology of the city.

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On July 26, 2005, just a few days before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Mumbai suffered one of the worst floods in its history. A record-breaking downpour of 944 mm within a 24-hour period combined with the high tide to deluge the city. The worse affected areas were the Bandra, Kurla, and Kalina areas around the Mithi River basin where the BKC sits. Waterlogging devastated low-lying slum settlements killing thousands and leaving many more homeless. In contrast to past disasters, it was not only the poor but also middle income groups that were affected.

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