The state government has requested the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to help in tackling the situation arising out of the floods in the city.
This, after the city reached type-2 of urban flooding and the civic agencies cannot handle it.
The team of 32 NDRF personnel is on standby to help in relief measures. It has completed a recce to handle the flood situation in HSR Layout. They are also conducting a recce to rescue people from Rajarajeshwarinagar and other flood-prone areas.
Pradeep K K, state emergency coordinator, Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority, told DH that things could get worse since the city is in stage-2 and the weather department has forecast more rain. So, the help of external agencies like the NDRF will be needed.
During the recce, NDRF personnel found the inflow of water much more than what the existing stormwater drains (SWDs) can handle in HSR Layout. Water is unable to flow into Agaram lake as it has been blocked near the ring road due to desilting work being undertaken in the lake.
Because of this, SWDs are overflowing in HSR Layout. A team, along with BBMP workers, has been pressed service round the clock to construct a new SWD perpendicular to the ring road as a parallel system to handle the flood.
A box drain is being constructed, he said.
The idea came up during an inspection by Bengaluru Development Minister K J George, BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad and heads of other civic agencies. The construction will be completed in three days.
Last time, the services of NDRF was used to handle the flooding in Madiwala and Kodichikkanahalli. The team was pressed into action when they were assessing the situation for type-2 flooding.
“The team is now studying the route map of the city, bylanes, traffic jams and escape routes to reach the rain-affected spot from its quarters in Mahadevapura at the earliest.
“It is studying the routes for evacuating people and safe locations where they can be housed,” Prasad said.