India, April 1 --  As she stepped into her new role as the commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country's richest civic body, Ashwini Bhide promised Mumbaikars that reviewing and strengthening flood resilience measures in the city will be her top priority. She also highlighted that the civic body had consistently worked to improve flood resilience measures through various projects over the years.

She took over from senior bureaucrat and outgoing civic commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, who retired on Tuesday, at a ceremony at the BMC headquarters. Bhide however preferred to downplay her role as Mumbai's first woman municipal chief, suggesting instead that perhaps "other women did not get a chance earlier".

The ...