New Delhi, June 15 -- Over the past few weeks, heavy rains caused flooding in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Gurgaon, Guwahati and several other cities. Newly inaugurated metro stations, upscale gated communities, technology parks and arterial roads were flooded, causing economic losses and adding to the chaos that characterizes India's urban spaces. A couple of years ago, an online survey found that over 90% of the respondents across the country suffer from water-logging.

It is easy and correct to attribute the problem to climate change, rapid urbanization and corruption. There is another reason: India does not have enough civil engineers.

We have been expanding cities and building a massive amount of infrastructure without trained, s...