BENGALURU: The heavy downpour in Bengaluru over the weekend has exposed the city’s faulty infrastructure. Even as the government and civic agencies bragged about their rain preparedness over the past few weeks, inundated road and waterlogged streets painted a different picture. That is not all, the stagnated water gave rise to worries of dengue and malaria, which are already on the rise.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials, the city received 59.8mm rainfall and HAL observatory recorded 47.2mm rainfall. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) control room received waterlogging complaints from 15 places including underpasses at Beniganahallli, Nayanadanahalli, Majestic, Malleswaram near Mantri Mall, RR Nagar and KR Market. The heavy rain also damaged the recently redone pavements at Commercial Street and Sheshadripuram. Citizens from HAL 3rd stage, EWS quarters in Eijipura, Wilson Garden 10th cross and Thanisandra also complained about waterlogged streets.
BBMP’s rain preparedness
“BBMP had claimed that the city can handle up to 70mm rainfall in one hour. But the city did not receive so much the entire day, yet the streets were flooded. This just shows the lack of planning and coordination among agencies,” said Bhavani M, a citizen. With the help of Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), the BBMP had identified 210 vulnerable points in the city and had installed sensors to alert agencies about flood. The Palike had also desilted drains and along with the revenue department, identified encroachments on stormwater drains.
“What is the point of the sensors when citizens are not informed about rising water levels in advance,” questioned Karthik, another citizen. BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said, “The city is spread over 800sqkm, and the flooding did not happen everywhere. Whenever we received a complaint on flooding, we immediately addressed it. There are some low-lying flood-prone areas and we are working to resolve the issue.”