Post-rain, nearly 400 sanitary complaints a day

Official says BWSSB lacks equipment to maintain underground drainage network

The summer showers may have brought respite from the sweltering heat.

But the rain also means choked drains and overflowing manholes.

In the last few days, the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has been flooded with complaints. On an average, the Board is getting nearly 400 complaints a day, which is double than those received during summer.

While the problem is not unusual, the Board is struggling to get on top of the situation with its fleet of 119 jetting machines.

Nothing has happened so far of its plan to induct 30 more machines.

BWSSB Engineer-in-Chief T. Venkataraju said that the current fleet is not adequate to meet the city’s increasing demands.

Drains clogged

Clogging of drains is a common problem whenever it rains.

This is because the city’s underground drainage (UGD) network was laid several decades ago. More than half of the 4,000 kilometres of UGD lines need to be replaced with pipes of a higher diameter, he said.

One jetting machine can clean up to five manholes a day. The city has more than 1.5 lakh manholes.