With no lessons learnt, Bengaluru all set to repeat last year's disaster
- Bengaluru received highest rainfall of the year this May - 241.3 mm, a ten-year high
- Just like last year, a majority of the low-lying areas in the city are now under the threat of flooding
- With the weather department predicting even heavier rainfall, flooded nights are fast becoming a daily reality
- But the BBMP seems to have learnt nothing from last year, and is even now conducting repair work.
FollowAfter the heavy rains that lashed Bengaluru on Friday and Saturday, people in low-lying areas have reported that they fear they will have to continue to live with the nightmare of heavy flooding, especially if the rain continues to batter the city in the coming days.
People in Kodichikkanahalli, Subrahmanyapura, Hongasandra, BTM Layout, Kumaraswamy Layout, Chikkallsandra, Vasantha Vallabhanagar, HSR Layout, Vishwapriya Layout near Begur and surrounding areas are still clearing muddy rainwater from their houses. "The rainwater has brought in filth along with it and we are tired of clearing the waste and water," rued a resident, reports Prajavani.
A similar nightmare revisited the residents of Bommanahalli where rainwater had entered a majority of the houses on Friday and Saturday. At Hosakerehalli, people spent their Sunday clearing their houses of rainwater.
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Following a partial wall collapse, water stood at least four feet deep at the Dattatreya temple in Hoskerehalli. Residents fear that the BBMP's failure to clean the stormwater drains in the area will further aggravate the situation. At 17 electricity poles and 25 trees have been uprooted by last week's rainfall.
But the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) does not seem to have learnt a lesson from last year's disaster - when the city experienced.dangerous flooding Instead, it is now hurrying to clean stormwater drains in a couple of areas - inviting the wrath of the people.
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Also, it is re-laying the drain pipes near Basaveshwar Nagar - a project that should have been completed before the monsoons. In certain areas, the officers concerned are yet to visit the places where rains have thrown peoples' lives out of gear.
In fact, this year, the state capital has received a record rainfall - 241.3 mm of rainfall - the highest in the past 10 years. If the City continues to receive rainfall for another two days, it may surpass the 1957 rainfall record of 287 mm!
The weather department predicts heavy rainfall this year. "Usually, the monsoon catches up from March but it used to be irregular. But this year, the monsoon has begun since May itself and this indicates natural calamities," observed Dr Srinivas Reddy of Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, reports Prajavani.
