BENGALURU: As the city braved another spell of heavy rains, parts of the city became predictably waterlogged. The state government seems to have finally turned its attention to remedial measures as it announced 408 works worth `300 crore for development of storm water drains (SWDs).
Bengaluru Development Minister K J George announced that the SWDs could handle about 80 millimetre (mm) of rain in a short space of time. However, on August 14, 180 mm of rain lashed the city in about three hours, he said. In August, the city received 249.5 mm of rainfall instead of the expected 136 mm, he added.
In the backdrop of the waterlogging, BBMP has announced extra works, in addition to projects worth `800 crore which are already underway. The works include construction of new SWDs and replacing the old SWDs with new ones. George said: “The project will be placed before the cabinet on Monday for approval. This is not a small task, and we want to implement a permanent solution, not a stop-gap one.”
He added that citizens, especially those riding two-wheelers, should exercise precaution as heavy rain had been forecast for the next three days, especially as submerged manholes and slabs had opened up at some places. The minister also claimed that construction of four more sewage treatment plants (STPs) was in process and by 2020, all of the city’s water would be treated. Responding to a question as to why additional storm water drains hadn’t been constructed earlier during the monsoon, George said the various stages of the project’s approval had taken time. He added the ongoing works on SWDs would be completed by December 2017.
32 NDRF personnel in city to help deal with monsoon emergencies As many as 32 members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been stationed at Mahadevpura in the city, to assist the BBMP in case of emergencies during the monsoon season.
BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad said the team had been called in to conduct rescue operations during emergency situations which might arise during the monsoon. The NDRF team accompanied him when he went to inspect parts of HSR Layout on Saturday night. The team arrived on Saturday and will be stationed at Mahadevpura until the monsoon season is over.