Mayor to carry shovel, spade in car during monsoon

 “I will now travel with shovel, spade and crowbar in my car. In case of rain related eventuality, I will ask my staff to get down to work instead of depending on BBMP,” an infuriated Mayor B N Manjunath Reddy summed up the rain preparedness of the BBMP on Thursday during an inspection of rain-hit areas.

Reddy took along with him the BBMP officials of the departments concerned and grilled them for flooding at places such as Palace Road, Ballari Road and Vittal Mallya Road. He got his gunmen remove silt from the drain at many places. He told the officials that till the monsoon is over, he would go on city rounds and take stringent action against callous officials.

Mayor expressed dissatisfaction over the silt accumulated in the side drains despite repeated instructions to clear them. “Due to clogged drains, many roads are resembling ponds. You have not learnt lessons from the past,” Reddy said. He instructed them to ensure that no flooding takes place in future and potholes do not surface during monsoon.