Fridge doors, mattresses, pillows and PWC pipes. These were just some of the things found inside the storm-water drain (SWD) that burst open near Gopalan Mall, near R.R. Nagar, on Mysuru Road last week, resulting in drainage gushing into the road and halting traffic and pedestrian movement for hours.
“People who live nearby probably dump these things inside,” said R. Natesh Babu, engineer (storm water drain), Dasarahalli zone, who spent about two days clearing the drain.
The incident highlights how lack of civic sense exacerbates the problem of maintaining the city’s network of SWDs, which are supposed to enable passage of rainwater to various lakes and thereby, prevent flooding during rains.
Every summer, and sometimes when it is necessary notwithstanding the season, the SWD Department of BBMP cleans and removes silt from the network. In January, Rs. 1.3 crore was spent on removing silt from eight major drains in Bommanahalli zone, and Rs. 4.16 crore spent on 19 drains in Rajarajeshwari Nagar zone.
The civic body had announced that it would be spending Rs. 56 crore to remodel SWDs and build new ones wherever necessary. The State government, in the 2016-17 budget, has allocated Rs. 800 crore for SWD works.
What money can’t solve
But no amount of money can be of any help if people keep dumping things into the drains.
“Garbage trucks are always lined up next to storm-water drains and it is no surprise that so much garbage finds its way into the drain. The garbage then floats into the lakes, polluting them,” said Kavita Reddy of the Agara Lake Protection and Management Committee.
This not only creates odour problems, but sometimes the drains are cracked open and pose a danger to passers-by.
“I have seen boulders, actual big rocks, inside the drain. I don’t know how they came there. There are weeds, plants and even small trees that have grown inside the drains,” said Vishwa Kumar, a resident of Kalyan Nagar.
Last week, an SWD on Mysuru Road burst open, leaving the road filled
with drainage
