Bengaluru flooding caused by official negligence, says Karnataka Lokayukta: Report

Lokayukta official said the preliminary inquiry revealed a worrying pattern of poor planning and unchecked encroachments in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru’s flooding problem is the result of negligence by officials and poor coordination between government agencies, observed Karnataka Lokayukta Justice BS Patil during a hearing on Friday, The Hindu reported.

During the inspection the officials visited four key flood-prone locations.

According to the report, the Lokayukta is currently hearing a suo motu case into the issue, following this week’s visit to several rain-affected parts of the city.

During the inspection on Thursday, Justice Patil, accompanied by Upa Lokayuktas KN Phaneendra and B. Veerappa, visited four key flood-prone locations, Silk Board junction, Panathur railway underpass, Sai Layout, and Manyata Tech Park. He said the preliminary inquiry revealed a worrying pattern of poor planning and unchecked encroachments, the report further added.

At the Silk Board junction, flooding was reportedly caused by the construction of a Bengaluru Metro pillar directly inside a stormwater drain by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL).

The agency failed to provide an alternate path for water flow, while the civic body had neither constructed the drain scientifically nor prevented encroachments on it, Justice Patil noted.

Lokayukta directed officials to speed up work

Taking serious note of the issue, the Lokayukta directed officials to speed up desilting work, restore the natural slope of drains to allow proper flow of water, and clear all encroachments. To ensure coordinated action, he constituted a committee headed by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao.

The panel will include engineers from all relevant departments and is expected to present a comprehensive plan to address flooding across the city by June 3, the date of the next hearing.

According tot he publication, in Panathur S Cross, where the South Western Railway (SWR) is building an underpass, the flooding was blamed on the absence of an alternate drainage channel. Justice Patil noted that water had no outlet after Panathur Lake overflowed, leading to inundation.

Officials from SWR and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) informed the Lokayukta that at Sai Layout, two large vents were being built at a railway underpass to ease drainage.

The flooding at Manyata Tech Park was raised in a complaint filed by a citizen, Puneeth DB, who alleged that the Karle Group had encroached on a stormwater drain, causing the area to flood.

BBMP officials said the real estate firm had obtained a favourable order from the Karnataka High Court, and the CEO of Manyata Tech Park had assured them that the company would construct the required drain.