Floods, potholes, voter data theft leave Bengaluru residents in lurch

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city’s civic body, has been without an elected council since September 2020

Bengaluru had become a flashpoint in 2022 as it struggled to cope with the urban floods triggered by incessant rains in August and September. Large-scale encroachment of lakes, rajakaluves and buffer-zones caused frequent flooding of houses. It was a wake-up call for policymakers to better prepare for extreme weather events and have a flood-resilient infrastructure.

Residents of waterlogged Rainbow Drive Layout use coracles to commute after heavy monsoon rains at Sarjapur in Bengaluru on September 7, 2022. (PTI)

Even as the city boasts of being the IT-BT capital, start-up hub and silicon plateau of the world, it is earning a bad reputation due to the presence of potholes which have remained a menace and turned out to be death traps for several in the past year.

Meanwhile, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city’s civic body, has been without an elected council since September 2020. There are no signs of the elections taking place before the assembly polls early next year, and citizens have nobody to hold accountable for the civic issues.

From the city’s crumbling infrastructure and poor condition of roads, to alleged voter data theft and tussle between cab aggregators and the transport department, the IT hub left the citizens in lurch on several parameters in 2022.

Floods & crumbling infrastructure

Heavy rainfall in August and September brought Bengaluru to a standstill. Various parts of the city were flooded, especially the IT corridor and adjoining areas from east Bengaluru along the Outer Ring Road (ORR) to south-east Bengaluru.

Rain caused traffic jams in several parts, especially in the Central Business District (CBD), and key arterial roads. People were seen travelling on boats and tractors through the streets of the IT hub.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), in August this year, Bengaluru received 370 mm of rainfall, which is only a little short of the all-time record of 387.1 mm of rainfall, last seen in August 1998.

Heavy rains exposed the chinks in the civic infrastructure and lack of preparedness on part of the civic body. While the government blamed the unusually heavy rainfall, experts said poor urban planning, encroachment of drains and lakes are the reasons behind the recurring problem.

IT firms and banking establishments in ORR area also wrote to chief minister Basavaraj Bommai that they incurred a loss of ₹225 crore due to the heavy rains and flooding on August 30.

Deaths and accidents due to potholes

The pothole menace continues in Bengaluru despite multiple complaints by commuters. This year, Bengaluru reported about seven deaths due to potholes, with officials adding that many such deaths may have gone unidentified.

In the latest incident, a 55-year-old bike-borne man died after a tractor ran over him when he slipped while trying to avoid a pothole.

The city’s civic body has been blaming the rains and rough weather for potholes developing on the roads every monsoon. But activists said corruption, structural issues and lack of accountability are the main reasons behind the city’s crumbling road infrastructure.

In 2015, a PIL was filed by Vijayan Menon and others in Karnataka high court, seeking directions for filling up potholes and maintenance of roads. While the high court has tried to fix the accountability on Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) several times, the civic body, until now, has not been able to come up with a solution.

On December 15, the high court directed the police not to hesitate or avoid registration of FIR in case a citizen approaches with a complaint of accident due to a pothole.

Delay in BBMP elections

The Karnataka government is yet to conduct the already much-delayed elections to BBMP, citing challenges to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation list and delimitation of wards.

Bengaluru has been without an elected body since September 2020 when the term of the BBMP ended, and the last BBMP polls were held in November 2015.

The high court, on September 30, had set aside the August 3 reservation list of the state government and ordered a fresh list to be prepared by November 30. It also set a deadline of December 31 to hold the civic polls.

But that won’t happen as the state government has now been given time till March 31 to submit a report on the political reservation for OBCs in local bodies of the state.

The assembly elections in Karnataka are slated to be held in early 2023. The BBMP elections, if held before then, would serve as the BJP government’s litmus test and reveal the anti-incumbency sentiment, according to experts.

Voter data theft scandal

The ruling government is also in the thick of serious allegations pertaining to voters’ data by an NGO. The BBMP had entrusted Chilume with the task of conducting house-to-house surveys to create awareness on revision of electoral rolls. The firm, however, allegedly collected personal details, including caste, education, mother tongue, Aadhaar and other details.

On November 18, NGO head Krishnappa Ravikumar was arrested along with other employees, including NGO director Renuka Prasad, HR executive Dharmesh and project executive Prajwal.

On November 27, four BBMP officials were arrested on charges of providing fake ID cards to representatives of NGO Chilume. Two IAS officers were also suspended in this regard.

After the issue surfaced, the Election Commission ordered a fresh audit of the voters’ list. The Congress has accused the state BJP government of facilitating widespread voter fraud and demanded the chief minister’s resignation.

Cab aggregators vs transport department

The tussle between the transport department and taxi aggregators gained momentum this year. Cab aggregators Ola, Uber and Rapido were under the government scanner for charging more than ₹100 per trip, even for trips shorter than 2km.

The transport department had pulled up the aggregators for offering auto rickshaw rides without licence and issued a notice that autorickshaws should charge a minimum price of ₹30 for the first two kilometres and ₹15 for every subsequent kilometre.

The Karnataka high court on October 14 granted interim relief to Ola, Uber and Rapido, directing the state government not to take any ‘coercive’ steps against them until a fair pricing mechanism for auto services is in place.

Amid the tussle, an autorickshaw union in Bengaluru launched a new ride-hailing mobile app called ‘Namma Yatri’ that connects customers directly to auto drivers without an intermediary.

Civic activist and convenor of Citizens’ Agenda for Bengaluru, Sandeep Anirudhan, said 2023 is special because it is the 30th anniversary of the 74th amendment of the constitution, or the Nagarpalika Act. Anirudhan’s wish for Bengaluru in 2023 is that the government “sees the errors of its ways, and implements the 74th Amendment in letter and spirit.”

“The regret is that this Act came into force in 1993, and if it was implemented, it could have changed the trajectory of Bengaluru in the past three decades when it experienced explosive growth,” Anirudhan said.

“The Act lays out the framework for City Planning as well as city government functions. The Karnataka government, by violating the constitution, has allowed Bengaluru to descend into chaotic unplanned growth and misgovernance,” he said.

“My wish is that the city gets a devolved and autonomous Metropolitan Planning Committee, and a devolved, autonomous and integrated City Govt, as well, with functional wards and area level committees and engages fully with citizens; that the multiple parastatals and government departments that duplicate the city services be either wound up, or merged into the BBMP.”

“That the state government stop meddling in the city’s planning and governance, and the BBMP Act 2020 is amended to ensure it is aligned with the 74th Amendment. This, and this alone will set everything else right, and will lead to orderly and planned development of the Silicon Valley of India,” he added.