We live like rodents: Suhel Seth kicks off crusade on urban mess, bigwigs cheer

After Gurugram's latest flooding, author-columnist Suhel Seth launched a citizens' campaign against urban civic failures and asked people to send documented evidence. The appeal drew support from prominent personalities like Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, who said that the campaign should grow into a national movement, stressing the role of citizens, apart from that of governments.Suhel Seth shared a contact number, urging people to send photos and videos of civic failures around them. (Images: Suhel Seth/ PTI)"I am angry, furious and raging over the miserable life we live in the cities across India. We live like rodents. Even worse." Speaking these words in a 2.17-minute clip, marketing expert and author Suhel Seth launched what he calls a citizens' movement against India's crumbling urban infrastructure. The clip, posted on Seth's X handle on Saturday (August 8) morning, came hours after heavy rain on Friday submerged large parts of the Delhi-NCR, including Haryana's Gurugram, where the author lives.Asking people to send him photos and videos of civic failures, Seth pledged to amplify them until authorities were held accountable. His appeal struck a chord among eminent personalities and hundreds of people across India. Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, and Lloyd Mathias, an angel investor.Indian Army veteran Lieutenant Colonel Sushil Singh Sheoran (Retired) said, "I am neither a communist nor an ultra socialist, but an apartment in Gurugram, which has third-world civic amenities, is being sold for Rs 271 crore. There is something extremely wrong with India".On Friday (August 7), as if by annual ritual, monsoon rain once again exposed Gurugram's chronic flooding as roads submerged, traffic paralysed, and people were stranded for hours. Hours before the Millennium City was inundated on Friday, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) had posted on X, "Every drain counts in building a flood-resilient Gurugram." Hours later, people responded with images and videos of waterlogged roads and stranded vehicles.Having long flagged Gurugram's civic issues, Seth has pitched the initiative as a citizens' movement, not a protest, saying documented evidence and collective public pressure can hold authorities accountable. The campaign has spread beyond Gurugram, with people from multiple cities joining in with similar stories and visuals of urban neglect.'WE LIVE LIKE RODENTS' The campaign began with a video posted by Suhel Seth on X after Gurugram witnessed severe waterlogging."I am angry, furious and raging over the miserable life we live in the cities across India," the 63-year-old said, adding, "We live like rodents. Even worse."Describing India's urban infrastructure as collapsing, Seth said potholes had become the size of "Mount Everest" while cities continued to flood every monsoon despite authorities having centuries of experience dealing with seasonal rains.He reserved particular criticism for Gurugram's local administration. He accused it of repeatedly allowing the Millennium City to turn into "Venice every monsoon".Instead of just venting frustration, Seth urged people to participate in what he described as a movement for accountability.He asked people to WhatsApp photographs and videos of waterlogged roads, broken civic infrastructure and other urban failures, along with dates and locations, promising to amplify every verified submission through media and social platforms."Let's stop talking about the problems and work towards solutions," he said. "We deserve the cities we can live in, not the cities we are forced to swim in," Seth added.The post has almost four lakh views, 728 comments, 2,100 reposts, 7,100 likes and 874 bookmarks as of Tuesday morning.While appealing, Seth had a copy of a book, "WTF India", placed in front of him. The book authored by Seth, according to its Amazon listing, was published on July 13, 2026, just 28 days earlier.Earlier on August 4, Seth had sarcastically advised commuters travelling to Gurugram to carry a boat, thanking Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and the Gurugram Deputy Commissioner for leaving the city flooded."Issued in the public interest: for all those coming to Gurugram today and/or leaving, kindly use a boat. Thanks to the brilliance of the administration, which never anticipated the monsoon, we are happily flooded. Thank you, Nayab Sain and DC Gurugram for your thoughtfulness," Seth wrote on X.BIGWIGS RALLY BEHIND SUHEL SETH'S CAMPAIGNWithin a day, hundreds of people across India responded to Seth's appeal with photographs and videos documenting waterlogging, traffic chaos and civic failures. Seth personally reposted one of them on X.Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw endorsed Seth's initiative, saying it should evolve into a nationwide citizens' movement similar in spirit to public participation campaigns."This must be a national movement. Honourable PM Narendra Modi had started the Swachh Bharat movement a decade ago, and it is a matter of civic shame that we as a people failed to act. In Bengaluru, we are focused on a clean city drive. But it has to be sustained action through cleaner habits," Mazumdar-Shaw posted on X.Mazumdar-Shaw, who is based in Bengaluru, has previously criticised poor infrastructure, garbage, potholes and unplanned urban growth in Karnataka's capital. The 73-year-old entrepreneur also urged authorities to prioritise cleaner streets, better roads, greener planning and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure.In June, she said Bengaluru, the garden city, had become "a garbage city with shrinking greenery".Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra also backed the effort, recalling Seth's role in amplifying public concerns during India's Covid-19 oxygen crisis.Angel investor Lloyd Mathias called it a "great initiative", adding that it needed "concerted citizen action".Chennai-based marketing professional KSV Kuppuswamy said, "You are doing a good thing, sir. Citizen action and activism by prominent individuals are the need of the hour. This is not about blaming the government, but about taking responsibility and bringing about meaningful change."Eminent people and others have hailed Seth's campaign appeal, and it comes at a time when online movements have gained momentum. The Reservation Hatao Aandolan (RHA) has emerged as an online force questioning the need for a blanket caste-based reservation system. Another digital campaign against the Centre's rapid push for E20 ethanol blending has also prompted the government to slow its rollout and review the pace of implementation. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led agitation showed how campaigns can spill onto the streets and force the government to do the "needful".Now, even as Indian cities have seen years of outrage, Seth is betting that organised citizen action could achieve what (might be) outrage has not achieved so far.- EndsPublished By: Sushim MukulPublished On: Aug 11, 2026 10:48 IST