‘Not Greater Bengaluru, but looters’ Bengaluru’: HD Kumaraswamy tears into Congress after city floods again

H D Kumaraswamy condemned the Karnataka government after heavy rains led to flooding in Bengaluru. He labeled the situation as a result of poor governance.

Union Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy launched a scathing attack on the Karnataka government after large parts of Bengaluru were submerged following intense overnight rainfall on Saturday. Labeling the situation as a consequence of administrative failure, Kumaraswamy said the city no longer represents “Greater Bengaluru” but rather “Looters’ Bengaluru”.

Former Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy (ANI)

The sharp remark was aimed at the recently enacted Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, which came into effect on May 15 to streamline city administration. However, with heavy rains exposing major lapses in civic preparedness, Kumaraswamy used the term sarcastically, saying the Act has only facilitated more corruption rather than better governance.

“Greater Bengaluru sinks when it rains heavily and floats when it rains lightly,” Kumaraswamy said in a statement on Sunday. He criticised the ruling Congress for failing to address the crumbling infrastructure, pointing to gaping potholes, open drains, and repeated flooding as proof of misgovernance.

He questioned the lack of accountability in the spending of public funds: “There’s not even soil to fill a pothole, but tenders worth thousands of crores are floated for tunnel roads. Do they think people are lifeless stones who won’t protest?” he asked, adding that the city’s glossy image in advertisements was far from its ground reality, which he described as “suffocating”.

Bengaluru recorded some of the heaviest rainfall in decades, with the Bengaluru Urban observatory registering 132 mm and the Bengaluru North (Somasettihalli) station recording 119 mm, according to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC). Several low-lying areas like Sai Layout in Horamavu were submerged, with boats deployed to rescue residents trapped in knee-to-waist deep water.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka also criticised the state government. Speaking to the media, he said it was time to rename the city “Water Bengaluru” instead of “Greater Bengaluru”, highlighting the frequency and severity of waterlogging incidents in recent weeks.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner T. Maheshwar Rao visited affected areas, including Horamavu and Sai Layout, on Sunday morning. He admitted that the rain was unusually intense and said civic teams worked on the ground till 1 AM. Rao assured that the administration will work on a permanent solution to the recurring floods, which residents say have now become an annual nightmare.

(With PTI inputs)