Why does a robust cloudburst bring the city to its knees? Blame ineptitude and lack of civic sense
If ever there is a season that Nagina and her family dread, it would have to be the monsoon. For, without fail, almost every rainy season, their temporary shed in the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quarters in Ejipura gets inundated.
Despite the usual noises by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which invariably claims that it is all geared up for the rainy season, the city is more or less brought to its knees during the monsoon. Every time it rains, the low-lying areas are flooded.
The causes
Civic experts attribute this flooding to rampant encroachments and accumulation of silt in the 850-km primary and secondary storm-water drain network, dumping of garbage, blockage of links between the water bodies, besides a host of other reasons.
The BBMP acknowledges that there are 70 low-lying areas in the city that get deluged in heavy rain. A few months before the pre-monsoon showers, it announces removing of silt from drains to allow smooth flow of rainwater.
Annual exercise
However, this has become an annual exercise where huge sums of money literally go down the drain — all in the name of monsoon preparedness.
Last June, the BBMP made yet another valiant attempt to improve the carrying capacity of drains, floating tenders to remove silt from mainly secondary and tertiary drains, for Rs. 42 crore. However, with the delay in the budget, work on secondary drains could not be taken up. Cleaning of tertiary drains — mostly comprising roadside and shoulder drains — was included as part of ward-level works. This is also delayed as the Standing Committee for Ward-Level Works approved the programme of works of the 198 wards only in March this year and the tender process is still on.
‘Continuous exercise'
Recently, BBMP Commissioner M.K. Shankarlinge Gowda announced in the Council that the civic authority was ready to face the monsoon and that 70 per cent of silt removal had been completed. A senior official told The Hindu this was a “continuous exercise” for the BBMP now whereas earlier, silt removal was executed as piecework. “To bring in transparency, the BBMP has now begun to float tenders. Also, quarry pits have been identified in each zone to dump the silt. The contractors are paid on the basis of the quantum of silt that has been removed,” the official added.
No work fronts
A hurdle before the BBMP in maintaining and improving the health of drains is the lack of any “work front”. An official admitted that a large part of the secondary storm-water drain network did not have any work front, i.e., service roads, corridors or any space by the side of the drain.
Last year, the BBMP had consulted the government with regard to framing a policy to create work fronts for the drains. However, there has been no progress.
With limited options available to prevent flooding, the BBMP is stressing on rejuvenation of lakes, pressuring citizens to adopt rainwater harvesting, besides taking up tree planting. But if precedence is any indication, it's going to be yet another one of those monsoons for Bangaloreans.
how about we citizens taking up the exercise of cleaning up the drains in our locality?
also ensuring that we do not dump garbage in the drains.
no point blaming civic bodies for everything..time to own up some responsibility
Even without the monsoon and the pre monsoon rains some part of the city is always wet and water filled pot holes thanks to the over flowing water tankers that move around all through the day and night. Their contribution is at its peak near the railway gates where they stop when the gates is closed. The overflowing water from the tankers make pot holes within weeks even after the road is asphalted.The pot holes created will automatically widenend and deepened by the passing traffic and remain so till such time the authorities fill it after month. The situation is compounded by the cutting of roads vertically and horizontally by the civic authorities for various purposes and leaving the bleeding roads unattended. One example for this is the Hoodi - Kodigealli road which passes through the Hoodi Railway gate in the Mahadevapura Zone under the BBMP.Despite bringing it's sorry plight to the notice of the Palike and concerned Corporator there is no action from the authorities
the BBMP does remove the silt from the drains before the rains, but always forgets to remove the piled up silt from the pavements, which causes rain to wash them back in the drains. such a simple way to waste money over and over again. one can see pavements loaded with piles of silt in almost every nook and corner of the city.
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