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To curb flooding, CM Bommai plans overhaul of Bengaluru drainage
The chief minister held a meeting with senior officials after entire Bengaluru had flood-like conditions after Thursday night’s downpour, which stands testimony to the city’s poor quality of infrastructure and planning.
Bengaluru Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said the state government will take short and long term steps to ensure more drain-related works are taken up during summer months to avoid a repeat of flooding each time it rains in Bengaluru.
The chief minister held a meeting with senior officials after entire Bengaluru had flood-like conditions after Thursday night’s downpour, which stands testimony to the city’s poor quality of infrastructure and planning.
“Whenever there is monsoons, low lying areas, wherever there is water logging, identify it and find the reasons for it. We have to take immediate steps for short and long-term plans and ensure water does not enter such homes,” Bommai said in Bengaluru.
His statement comes at a time when Bengaluru’s crumbling infrastructure was once again put to the test during the heavy downpour in October.
Despite being one of India’s largest cities and a global reputation in technological prowess, the public infrastructure in Bengaluru remains one of the poorest in the country.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), at least 18 people lost their lives in Bengaluru due to civic apathy that is more than all other major cities combined.
Most streets in Bengaluru were inundated on Thursday night which authorities conveniently blamed on the sudden downpour.
“When it rains, we can only do rescue operations. But we can do so much more during summer,” Bommai said.
There are no elected representatives in the city corporation for over a year and may not be for at least the first half of next year. With no elected representatives and the chief minister continuing to hold onto Bengaluru city in charge portfolio, there are few alternatives to hold officials accountable for these repeated lapses.
In a recent interaction with Hindustan Times, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) chief commissioner Gaurav Gupta said the instances of water logging had become almost negligible in the city. On the very day, almost the entire neighbourhood of HSR Layout was underwater after the drain and nearby lake water started to overflow, destroying cars, property and leaving behind a trail of destruction.
Bommai said nearly 75 km of retaining walls on stormwater drains had collapsed or were damaged.
He said out of the total 842 km of retaining walls that were supposed to be built, only 389 km were completed so far.
The BBMP has no dearth in expenditure as it spends hundreds and thousands of crores each year on various civic works.
In the last five years, the Karnataka government has spent over ₹20,000 crore on fixing roads in Bengaluru, Bommai said during the monsoon session of the state legislature between September 13 and 24.
But the condition of the roads in what is proudly called India’s IT capital, remains among the poorest in terms of quality.
Bommai said he would increase the number of disaster response teams to four within the next one year from just the one currently.
He added that the government would utilise the services of home guards and civil defence personnel for rescue during heavy rains in Bengaluru.
The chief minister said he would double the number of rescue teams from 15 members in each of the 64 teams to 30.
Bengaluru is expected to receive more rains over the next few days.
