CNN-IBN

Mumbai, Jul 6: CNN-IBN’s Citizen Journalist campaign on the Mumbai rains got some star power on Wednesday July 5, when actress Raveena Tandon-turned-journalist reported on how the monsoon had affected Lokhandwala.

Tandon, who was born and brought up in Mumbai, said she wanted to report because she was "a concerned citizen of the city".

She requested the authorities, citizens and to the whole of Mumbai to take charge and act soon.

Here is what Raveena Tandon had to say on Mumbai's state of affairs:

"I am a concerned citizen of the city and I am here to show you what problems the city-goers actually go through during the monsoons. We all love the rains, I love the rains. Yes, it is a great excuse for my daughter not to go to school, my husband not to go to work and, yes, we have great picnic at home.

But unfortunately, the situation is so bad that we ourselves need to take action as concerned citizens and not just blame the authorities every time. Yes, the authorities are not responding, you have got to take action yourself.

That's what we in this area (Lokhandwala) have been trying to do and initiate for a long time. There is huge debris dumping here, which has been there for a long time and everyone just takes it for granted that it is a garbage dump. Ultimately, what happens is that even the state of the road has turned worse and it has been like this for I don’t know how many years.

Yes, the authorities have been passing the buck. We have been trying to do something about this road. But ultimately, it is we, the citizens who have to make an effort. If we don’t wake up now, we cannot constantly blame the gods or the authorities or the government for not doing their work.

What about us? We are the ones who chose them and put them in where they are. So ultimately, it is up to us to take an initiative. What I would also like to request my fellow Mumbaikars is that the only way to save this city is to take action right now. If you know, most of Lokhandwala is on a septic tank. There is actually no drainage system here. As a concerned citizen, my request to the authorities, to the citizens and to Mumbai is to wake up. Mumbai is indeed a very noble city in spite of the nonsense that we have given the city, the way we have brutalised the city. It still rises to every occasion and rises like a phoenix through the ashes.

For me, I love Mumbai, I love the rain but unfortunately, we have to take all this on our stride and make a difference and make it now."