Residents of HSR Layout get nervous with every bout of rain, and with good reason, too. A spate of rain results in drains and manholes overflowing, turning many parts of the posh locality into a virtual cesspool.
“During the rain in the first week of June, the situation turned so bad that we had our streets and some houses flooded with sewage overflowing from manholes. Many residents had a tough time cleaning their houses,” said K. Vijay of HSR Sector 7 Residents’ Welfare Association.
The story is no different in other sectors of the area, complain residents. Sector 3, 6 and 7 of the layout are the most severely hit, said Zahid Javali of ‘HSR Layout Residents Watch’, a community magazine in the area. “It’s not just sewage; Sector 3 is especially prone to flooding from Somasundarapalya lake. Roads and houses get inundated during heavy rains,” he added.
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Overflowing sewage seems to be a problem with no quick fix in sight. Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) authorities said there were issues of gradient tilts in the area, affecting Sectors 6 and 7 as they are low-lying areas. “Sewage is not flowing out of the area owing to negative gradient, and during heavy rains when the pressure on the network upstream is high, sewage sometimes flows back, leading to overflowing manholes in these areas,” said Sahebanna, assistant engineer, HSR Layout, BWSSB. “This is despite the area having sewer lines of 430 mm diameter (normally, 230-mm diameter pipes are used). But the pressure on the network has increased,” he said.
As a temporary fix, the BWSSB has been deploying suction pumps to empty clogged manholes, often to prevent flooding. Mr. Vijay said in Sector 7 alone, the machine sucked out around 30 truckloads of sewage last week. Mr. Sahebanna said the 30 MLD sewage treatment plant (STP) near Agara lake, set to be commissioned by June-end would work as a pumping station and will ensure enough pressure so that sewage moves out of the area.
“Officials have conceded this will provide only around 30% relief,” said Mr. Vijay.
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Adding pressure on the network is increasing commercialisation of the area and many apartments and establishments illegally letting sewage into storm-water drains, leading to flooding.
“Pipes from the rooftop of many houses are connected to sewage lines, and many houses and apartments are pumping out rainwater that gets filled in the basement to the drains. The drains are not able to carry the huge load,” said Kavita Reddy, a resident of the area.
The BWSSB is working on a major sewage line along the Outer Ring Road to carry sewage from Begur and other upstream areas to the new STPs, which, once completed, will augment the capacity of the sewage network of HSR Layout, officials said. The project, however, is delayed for over six months now.