A year later, Bengaluru fears more flood trouble

A view of the drain work at Rainbow Layout, Marathahalli. Credit: DH Photo

Last year’s floods in Bengaluru devastated parts of the city and left us with haunting images of slums, major roads, posh layouts under water and CEOs hitching a ride on tractors to escape their inundated houses.

The unprecedented scenes of a marooned city should have prompted soul-searching and a swift response from the government, which had incurred public wrath.

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But nothing much has changed on the ground a year after the floods, with scores of encroachments still remaining. With the monsoon set to arrive next month, flood-prone parts of the city could again be vulnerable this year.

When DH reporters visited a few vulnerable areas such as Rainbow Layout, Marathahalli Spice Garden Layout, Nallurahalli and Cottonpet, residents were anxious and feared a repeat of last year’s devastation. Residents said there was hardly any intervention by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

“The BBMP has done nothing,” said Saha, owner of a store in Marathahalli Spice Garden Layout and a resident of an apartment complex nearby.

“We incurred a loss of about Rs 5 lakh last year. We are planning to build a wall to seal the basement to prevent flooding but we don’t expect any assistance from the BBMP.”

The slum dwellers also had a similar story – no assistance from the BBMP. “We approached them multiple times to take preventive measures after last year’s floods. Leave alone corrective measures, we are still awaiting the little compensation they give for the damages we suffered,” said Jhansi, a resident of Bakshi Garden, Cottonpet.

She added that BBMP officials visited the area only once after the incident.

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After the floods, the BBMP started desilting storm water drains (SWD) and remodeling works in a few areas, but many of these works remain incomplete, virtually making it useless. The BBMP is yet to remove encroachments at close to 607 spots of which 118 have been stuck in legal battles.

But BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath countered it by saying that substantial progress has been made in removing encroachments.

“We are yet to remove encroachments only in 607 places. Of the 607, at 118 spots, there is a legal dispute and a stay order is in place. Wherever there is a stay order, those areas may still be affected since we cannot do much,” he said.

“We plan to remove a few encroachments in KR Puram and Mahadevapura from today. It is a challenging task since we should ensure that removing a part of the building does not weaken the structure and no lives are lost,” Girinath added.