Surat: Frustrated by recurring flooding and mounting losses at his Vesu cafe, a businessman found an unusual way to protest the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) — by adopting a fish swept into his commercial complex during the recent flooding and naming it “SMC”. The gesture drew attention to persistent waterlogging complaints in the area.Piyush Rajput, who owns a cafe on the ground floor of Ofira Business Hub near Bhagwan Mahavir College, said repeated flooding has caused substantial losses to businesses in the complex, which houses 68 shops. The complex was badly flooded during the recent flooding and again during the heavy rain on Sunday.Rajput told TOI, “We had to spend more than Rs 1.5 lakh to flush out the water. We had just cleaned the basement, but water again entered the basement and our ground-floor shops during the rain on Sunday morning. This time, many fish from the nearby rivulet entered our complex. I decided to raise one by naming it SMC. I believe it is a gift from the SMC. I will take care of it in a symbolic protest and hope that SMC wakes up to the problems of citizens.”He said he will get an aquarium with an oxygenator for the fish so it can live comfortably.Rajput alleged that he and residents of nearby housing societies and owners of commercial establishments made several representations to SMC officials and councillors over the past three years about the flooding problem.According to him, a commercial establishment has obstructed the natural flow of water, leading to repeated flooding in the area. “We had to stage a dharna on the road as we incurred losses worth lakhs during the recent flooding,” he said.Rajput also alleged that no official survey of the affected premises had been carried out despite repeated flooding incidents.
