Be prepared to tackle monsoon emergencies, Lokayukta tells officials

To ensure that no fatalities during rainy season, the Lokayukta Justice Y Bhaskar Rao has directed the civic agencies to undertake a slew of measures and submit an action taken report by May 25 on the same. 

The Lokayukta, at a meeting held with the senior officials of  Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) recently, directed the authorities to get into the action mode, stated a release issued by the Lokayukta. 

The Lokayukta has told the civic agencies  to monitor and repair manholes that are subjected to wear and tear everyday on a priority basis before the onset of monsoon. An official concerned told the meeting that there are a total of 1,60,000 manholes in the BBMP limits.

The BBMP commissioner  has been directed to issue notice to corporation schools to close the sumps left open to thwart any accidents. 

 The water board and the Palike were also directed to close the defunct borewells in the City. They were instructed to pay adequate compensation in case of death due to natural calamity. A minimum  compensation of Rs 10 lakh has to be given to family members of those who die in rain-related incidents within a week of occurrence of such incident.

Meanwhile, the Lokayukta, on April 25, has sent a copy of the proceedings of the meeting along with the deadline date to newly appointed administrator T M Vijaya Bhaskar and the BBMP Commissioner Kumar Naik.