The tragic incident of a woman dying after a car was submerged in an underpass in K.R. Circle has left citizens questioning why underpasses are inundated during rains. Not just the K.R. Circle one but several other underpasses in the city often face water stagnation.
According to experts, underpasses in the city get inundated only when there is a lack of or no proper maintenance of lead drains. “From the point where both the ramps intersect, gratings are made, and lead drains are constructed which carry the water to the lowest point — either a storm-water drain or secondary drain near the underpass. It is carried to the lowest point to avoid the reverse flow of water,” said Nagaraj K.T., former BBMP engineer.
He said, “If the lead drain or the mouth of the grating is not cleaned up and it is jammed or clogged up, or silted up, that is when water stagnation occurs at underpasses. Every three months, these drains should be cleaned to avoid stagnation of water”. BBMP inquiry committee led by Engineer-in-Chief B. S. Prahlad blamed gusty winds and rains that brought severed leaves into the underpass blocking the drain.
Mr. Nagaraj added that when the primary or secondary drains at the end of lead drains are overflowing then also some water might flow back to the underpasses if the falling in the pipes are not deep enough.
Srikanth Channal, Chairman, Association of Consulting Civil Engineers, Bengaluru, blamed the administrators for the failure of underpasses. “Civil engineering has fallen into the wrong hands. The administrators do not care much about the technicalities included in the construction. The administration system and contractors have all become unprofessional,” he said.
Often left with the task of dealing with flooded underpasses, the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) have also identified a few problematic underpasses within the Central Business District (CBD). Apart from the K.R. Circle underpass, the underpasses near Le Meridian hotel, Kino junction, Nehru Circle and the one in Gayatripuram near Malleswaram railway station, are some of the problematic spots identified by the BTP.
“The underpass problems in Kodigehalli and Kadubeesanahalli have now been resolved. We have submitted a list of 65 waterlogging spots in the city to the BBMP for treatment,” said M. A. Saleem, Special commissioner, Traffic.
