BENGALURU: IT/BT Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan said that IT companies will be involved in the development of Mahadevapura zone, to prevent any more flooding. At a meeting with heads and representatives of various companies, including Infosys, Goldman Sachs, Wipro, Intel and Tata Consultancy Services, the minister promised that flooding will not recur next monsoon. Company representatives spoke of various issues due to floods in Bellandur area, with many companies having to switch to work from home mode.
The meeting follows CM Basavaraj Bommai’s visit to flood-hit areas on Tuesday night, when he had said he would hold a meeting with IT leaders and also builders, to seek solutions. “We were affected, especially in Mahadevapura, due to unprecedented rainfall. We realise we must work together to solve the problems being faced by Bengaluru, and have decided to share the responsibility to make things right in the city, and contribute our expertise and funds. This will require monitoring and has the full commitment of the Chief Minister,” said Kris Gopalakrishnan, head of the state’s IT Vision Group.
The companies will be contributing resources and technology to help prevent flooding, Ashwath Narayan said. “We will be conducting virtual meetings with the companies. Mahadevapura will not flood next monsoon, we will make use of industry participation and formulate a blueprint to develop the area,” he said. The K-100 project will also be adopted in Mahadevapura to ensure easy drainage of water, he
added.
‘Brand Bangalore intact’
Gopalakrishnan rejected any notion of the floods affecting the ‘Namma Bengaluru’ brand. “Bangalore brand is not going anywhere. The rain is unprecedented and floods like these happen every once in a while in any city. Our job now is to understand how to develop the city to prevent this from happening again,” he told the media on Wednesday.
On night round, Bommai checks drain points
Bommai, who visited areas around Mahadevapura and Ring Road from 11pm to 1am Wednesday, said the city’s rainwater technically drains out of Koramangala-Challaghatta valley, which is a network of natural water flow courses, but many of these courses have been encroached. He said certain waterways, which were 15m wide, have shrunk to less than 3m.
An amount of Rs 300 crore has been allocated to clear these bottlenecks on priority as soon as the monsoon recedes, Bommai said, as he waded through ankle-deep water in chappals. He checked the maps and natural drain points along Mahadevapura area with MLA Arvind Limbavali and minister Ashwath Narayan, and officials from the BBMP and UDD.