The city is gearing up for the monsoons. Memories of the flash floods in July 2016 and inundation of low-lying areas in August and September last year are still fresh, but the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) says the city is ‘monsoon ready’ this year.
Civic officials claimed that work on desilting, remodelling of drains and construction of permanent structures are underway, and everything possible is being done to avoid a repeat of last year. “All precautions are being taken. We have taken up work on a war footing and intend to complete it before the onset of the monsoon,” said Bettegowda, Chief Engineer, Stormwater Drains (SWD), BBMP.
Delay due to elections
But officials admitted that the Assembly elections had put a lot of work on hold. In April 2017, the civic body had started remodelling 146 km of SWD at a cost of ₹800 crore, but work has been completed on only 130 km.
“It some places, work was temporarily stopped due to the pre-monsoon showers. Though there are delays, we are confident of finishing before the monsoon,” Mr. Bettegowda said, adding that the civic body has sanction for SWD construction work for certain parts, which could not be taken up due to the election code of conduct and will be taken up now.
During last year's rain, among the worst-hit were residents of Koramangala, HSR Layout, Shantinagar, Wilson Garden, K.R. Puram, Anugraha Layout, Ulsoor, Viveknagar, Murugesh Palya, and Gurappanapalya on Bannerghatta Road.
The BBMP is taking precautionary measures in these areas, officials said.
“Desilting of drains has been taken up in all these areas. We are constructing permanent SWD structures in Yeshwantpur, BMTC depot in Shantinagar and J.C. Road. The BBMP identified 366 vulnerable locations in the 2016 and 2017 rains and work is being taken up on priority in these places. Already, we have completed work in 339 locations,” Mr. Bettegowda added.
Monsoon preparedness
The BBMP is setting up 63 temporary control rooms, in addition to the nine existing ones, to deal with monsoon-related complaints. Arrangements are being made to have officials available between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
It is setting up 21 forest teams for the next six months to assist in pruning trees. Officials have been instructed to remove fallen branches within three hours.
The civic body is setting up a temporary disaster management cell for the monsoon. Each ward is being given ₹20 lakh to ₹30 lakh, depending on whether it is located in the core or outer area.
According to the BBMP, work on cleaning lake inlets has been completed in 25 lakes.
Residents wary
Despite these assurances, residents are a worried lot. Residents of HSR Layout, which faced flooding last year, say that these are local-level issues and the ward officers should be held responsible for slowness of work.
Kavitha Reddy, a resident, said, “We met the Mayor and highlighted the need to address issues such as ensuring that rainwater reaches lakes, putting barricades along SWDs to prevent dumping of garbage, and cleaning rajakaluves, which are not being done.”
Potholes are back
The pre-monsoon showers have brought potholes back on the roads.
Last year saw the wettest monsoon and also the deadliest in the recent past. At least 15 pothole-related deaths were reported in the city in 2017.
At present, the BBMP has identified 3,630 potholes across the city. According to officials, there is an instruction from the BBMP commissioner to fill them on priority basis.
