Days after rains affected various parts of East and South-East Bengaluru, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai visited the affected areas on Thursday afternoon.
Mr. Bommai visited an apartment in Marathahalli first at 3.30 p.m., and then visited Whitefield and inspected various stormwater drains (SWD).
According to the Chief Minister’s office, he instructed officials to remove the encroachments on the SWD, which caused the flooding in various areas after the recent rains.
After that, he visited Varthur lake, one of the largest water bodies in Bengaluru South taluk, and discussed with officials on the water flow after the rains.
The Chief Minister also visited Sai Layout, Ecospace near Bellandur, and the Outer Ring Road (ORR) to take stock of the situation.
Later, he held a meeting with all civic agency officials along with local residents at a convention hall in Marathahalli. The Chief Minister scheduled the inspection after an outcry on social media against the government’s apathy on Bengaluru’s IT corridor.
After the high-level meeting between the Chief Minister and officials regarding the flood situation in Bengaluru, Revenue Minister R. Ashok said that the government has decided to mercilessly remove properties blocking rainwater flow and SWDs in the city.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Ashok said, “Our civic body officers have identified 10 bottlenecks in the city, and in a day or two, we will start the demolition drive of illegal encroachments. We have told the officers to be merciless while implementing the drive without attending to any phone calls”.
“Action will be taken under the Disaster Management Act to remove all blocks, causing water stagnation due to encroachment,” he added.
