The Hindu Editorial (Falling behind) – Jul 07, 2026

The Hindu Editorial (Falling behind) – Jul 07, 2026

To read this article, click “The Hindu”.

This preview is provided here with permission.

Courtesy: The Hindu

The Hindu Editorial (Falling behind) – Jul 07, 2026:

fall behind (phrasal verb) – fail to keep up with others; lag, trail, drop back.
urbanisation (noun) – the process of making an area more urban; town planning, city development.
evolve (verb) – develop gradually; progress, advance.
infrastructure (noun) – the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or enterprise; physical facilities.
upgrade (noun) – an improvement to something; enhancement, modernization, betterment.
monsoon (noun) – rainy season, seasonal rainfall.
southwest monsoon (noun) – the seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean and southern Asia, blowing from the southwest in summer and bringing heavy rainfall.
southwesterly (adjective) – coming from the southwest; southwestward.
loaded with (phrase) – full of, filled with, packed with.
moisture (noun) – water diffused in a small quantity as vapor; dampness, humidity, wetness.
sweep (verb) – to move swiftly and forcefully; flow, surge, rush.
Western Ghats (proper noun) – a mountain range that runs almost parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, known for its rich biodiversity and influence on monsoon patterns.
deliver (verb) – bring, provide, produce, yield.
Konkan coast (proper noun) – a rugged section of the western coastline of India covering parts of Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka.
offshore (adverb) – situated at sea some distance from the shore; seaward.
route (verb) – direct, channel, guide, steer; send, forward.
in general (phrase) – usually, mainly, normally, mostly.
matter (verb) – make a difference, be important, be significant; carry weight, signify.
absorb (verb) – soak up, take in, suck up; assimilate, ingest.
moderate (adjective) – average, modest, reasonable; mild, medium.
however (adverb) – nevertheless, yet, but, nonetheless; notwithstanding.
drainage (noun) – the action or process of draining something; sewerage, wastewater system, water clearing.
handle (verb) – manage, deal with, take care of, tackle; control, cope with.
in short bursts (phrase) – happening for brief periods of time; sporadically, intermittently.
overwhelm (verb) – overload, swamp, engulf, inundate; flood, overrun.
catchment (noun) – the action of collecting water, especially the collection of rainfall over a natural drainage area; basin, watershed.
in parts of (phrase) – in some areas of, in certain regions of.
tide (noun) – the alternate rising and falling of the sea; current, wave.
stormwater (noun) – surface water in abnormal quantity resulting from heavy falls of rain; floodwater.
worsen (verb) – aggravate, exacerbate, compound, complicate; deteriorate, decline.
suspend (verb) – stop, halt, interrupt, pause; delay, hold off.
landslide (noun) – a collapse of a mass of earth or rock from a mountain or cliff; rockfall, mudslide, earthslip.
Bhor Ghat (proper noun) – a mountain passage located in Maharashtra, serving as a crucial railway and road route between Mumbai and Pune.
expressway (noun) – a highway designed for fast traffic, with controlled entrance and exit; freeway, motorway.
disruptive (adjective) – causing problems, interrupting, disturbing; troublesome, unsettling.
erraticity (noun) – unpredictability, instability, irregularity; inconsistency, fluctuation.
vulnerability (noun) – weakness, susceptibility, defenselessness, frailty; exposure, liability.
associated (adjective) – related, connected, linked; correlated, affiliated.
linear infrastructure (noun) – long and continuous infrastructure systems such as roads, railways, power lines, and pipelines.
ease (noun) – facility, effortlessness, simplicity; lack of difficulty, smoothness.
compound (verb) – worsen, aggravate, exacerbate, intensify, multiply, augment.
cascading (adjective) – passing on, transferring, transmitting, happening in a series or sequence, chain-reaction.
chawl (noun) – a type of residential building found in western India, particularly in Mumbai, characterized by a series of single rooms sharing a common corridor and communal toilets.
take the lives of (phrase) – kill, result in death, cause to die.
lie (verb) – be situated, be located, be placed; rest, stand.
peninsula (noun) – a piece of land almost surrounded by water or projecting out into a body of water; cape, headland.
reclaimed (adjective) – (of land) recovered from the sea, a lake, or a marsh; restored, salvaged.
former (adjective) – previous, earlier, past; erstwhile.
marsh (noun) – an area of low-lying land which is flooded in wet seasons or at high tide; swamp, bog, wetland.
tidal flat (noun) – a coastal wetland that forms when mud is deposited by tides or rivers; mudflat.
low-lying (adjective) – at or near sea level; close to the ground, sunken.
coastal (adjective) – relating to or near a coast; seaside, seaboard, shoreline.
characteristic (adjective) – typical, specific, representative, intrinsic, inherent, distinctive.
coincide (verb) – happen simultaneously, occur concurrently, synchronize, clash, coexist.
high tide (noun) – the state of the tide when at its highest level; high water.
decade (noun) – a period of ten years.
haphazard (adjective) – random, unplanned, unsystematic, disorganized, chaotic, arbitrary.
run-off (noun) – the draining away of water from the surface of an area of land; overflow, excess water.
rather than (phrase) – instead of, as opposed to.
drain (noun) – pipe, channel, conduit, sewer, culvert, trench.
launch (verb) – begin, start, initiate, introduce, set in motion, commence.
Brihanmumbai Storm Water Disposal System (BRIMSTOWAD) (proper noun) – a mega infrastructure project planned to overhaul and upgrade Mumbai’s outdated water drainage system.
widen (verb) – broaden, expand, enlarge, stretch, dilate.
undertake (verb) – begin, start, engage in, embark on, commit to, initiate.
premonsoon (adjective) – occurring before the monsoon season; pre-rains.
desilting (noun) – the removal of fine sediments and debris from a body of water or drainage system; sediment removal, drain clearing.
incomplete (adjective) – unfinished, partial, uncompleted, half-done, lacking.
assumption (noun) – premise, belief, expectation, supposition, guess, presumption.
climate change (noun) – long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, largely driven by human activities; global warming, climatic disruption.
undermine (verb) – weaken, compromise, diminish, subvert, sabotage, erode.
official (noun) – officer, administrator, executive, bureaucrat, authority figure, representative.
deadly (adjective) – fatal, lethal, mortal, death-dealing, destructive.
lack (noun) – absence, deficiency, shortage, dearth, scarcity, inadequacy.
redundancy (noun) – the inclusion of extra components which are not strictly necessary to functioning, in case of failure in other components; reserve, backup, alternative.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) (proper noun) – the governing civic body of Mumbai, responsible for the city’s civic infrastructure and municipal administration.
belated (adjective) – late, delayed, overdue, tardy, lagging, behindhand.
advisory (noun) – official communication, warning, bulletin, notification, alert, notice.
halt (verb) – stop, terminate, suspend, pause, arrest, cease.
hazardous (adjective) – dangerous, risky, unsafe, perilous, treacherous, precarious.
suggest (verb) – indicate, point to, signify, denote, imply, hint at.
governance (noun) – administration, management, oversight, regulation, authority.
lapse (noun) – failure, mistake, blunder, oversight; slip, omission.
accountability (noun) – responsibility, liability, answerability.
split (verb) – divide, separate, partition, fragment, break up.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) (proper noun) – an agency under the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting, and seismology.
forecasting (noun) – predicting, prediction, estimation, projection; warning, prognosis.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) (proper noun) – an Indian specialized force constituted for the purpose of specialist response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster.
authority (noun) – official, administration, governing body; agency, department.
overall (adverb) – generally, mostly, by and large, altogether; comprehensively, mainly.
shut down (phrasal verb) – close, suspend operations, halt, switch off, lock down.
minimise (verb) – reduce, decrease, diminish, lower; curtail, cut down.
toll (noun) – number of casualties, death toll, loss, cost; damage, impact.
system capacity (noun) – the maximum amount or load that an infrastructure framework can safely handle; infrastructural limit, holding capacity.
catch up to (phrasal verb) – to reach the same level or standard as someone or something else; keep pace with, match, draw level with.
demand (noun) – requirement, need, necessity.
failing (adjective) – unsuccessful, flawed, defective, deficient, ineffective, inadequate.
strategy (noun) – plan, approach, tactic, scheme, blueprint, methodology.