Experts stress citizens' role in fixing city woes

 Rotary Club of Bengaluru organised the first edition of 'Namma Ooru' series on Monday where in urban experts discussed ‘Why is the City flooding so often’ and possible solutions to floods.

Urban expert Ashwin Mahesh, who anchored the panel discussion, said the objective of the series is to have conversation with people on the problems haunting the city, discuss measures to tackle them and encourage the community to do something about it. According to the organisers, it has been proposed to hold five events under the ‘Namma Ooru’ series in the coming months.

Architect Naresh V Narasimhan started the discussion by explaining how the lakebeds and stormwater drains have been encroached upon, causing flooding. “National Games Village stands in the place of the Koramangala lake and the Dharmambudhi tank has made way for the Majestic bus terminal. About 11,000 acres of lake land has been encroached upon in the city, according to Koliwad committee," he said.

Narasimhan said that recovery of lake beds, proper utilisation of rainwater and creating awareness among citizens are some of the solutions to the problems.

Urban expert V Ravichander said community plays a vital role in solving the issues. "At the same time, we need to hold the state government accountable for the things they need to undertake and execute," he remarked.

Shubha Ramachandran, Water Sustainability Consultant at Biome Environment Solutions said rainwater should be used in a better manner, during downpour.   "Rainwater harvesting and ground water recharge should be adopted," she said.

Demolition drive

Referring to the ongoing demolition drive, Ravichander said the BBMP was completely relying on the village maps for identifying structures for demolition. They have identified the areas prone to flooding. No development zones should come up in such areas, he added.