Urban Development Minister B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) on Monday directed officials to widen earthen drains (kaccha drains) in Mahadevapura Zone as an immediate measure to tackle flooding.
Basavaraj, the minister in-charge of the Mahadevapura zonal task force, chaired a meeting with civic officials to review the infrastructure in the wake of heavy rains that smashed the city recently.
“Officials have been directed to widen kaccha drains by desilting them so that the flow of water is seamless,” he said. “This is a precautionary measure because all the other works that we have planned will be completed only by March-April next year. Before that, we need to widen the kaccha drains,” he added.
Basavaraj claimed that not a single drain is encroached upon in Mahadevapura Zone. “The problem is drains in villages that got included into the BBMP have not been developed. The Chief Minister has provided funds and the works will be completed soon,” he said.
According to the minister, half of Bengaluru’s water drains into the KR Puram constituency that he represents. “There are vents made by the Indian Railways, but they are so small that water gets blocked and it flows back,” he said.
“In KR Puram, there are three areas that face problems — Nagapppa Reddy Layout, Pai Layout, and Sai Layout,” Basavaraj said. “The CM has sanctioned
Rs 32 crore for infrastructure development. In Nagappa Reddy Layout, we are building an additional drain.”
The recent rains resulted in 461 homes being inundated — 381 in KR Puram and 80 in Mahadevapura. “So far, 23 homes in KR Puram have received compensation of Rs 25,000 under the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme. In two to three days, all other homes will receive the compensation,” Basavaraj said.
Helplines
Basavaraj said exclusive helplines have been set up for Mahadevapura Zone. “We have appointed a nodal officer to attend to every call or complaint on potholes, drains, garbage and any other issue,” he said. He requested citizens to call 080-28512300, 080-28512301 and 9480685706 for assistance.
Pothole-filling deadline
The minister said he has instructed officials to fill up all potholes in Mahadevapura Zone in a week’s time.
“By Saturday, all the potholes should be filled. I will review this next Monday and inspect various places in the zone myself.”