Woes spill over

The last few weeks have been hell for Bengalureans. The late evening and predawn downpour has wreaked havoc on the roads, exposing infrastructural shortcomings of the City and its civic authorities. Flooded roads, uprooted trees and overflowing manholes have now become a common sight across the city. Young Bengalureans blame it on the short-sightedness of government authorities and point out that only a few immediate preventive measures could save the city from further mess. They suggest regular pruning of tree branches, cleaning of drains and manholes and filling of potholes well before Monsoons arrive.

Musa Shahed, a student of St Joseph’s College of Commerce, says “The first thing that the government needs to do is clean the drains and prune the weak branches of trees ahead of the Monsoons. When it rains, water from the drains overflows onto the roads and this is what causes flooding. Even some of the newly laid out roads have no space for water to drain out. These are a few small things that can go a long way in preventing flooding and falling of trees. I also feel that the government must concentrate on sprucing up the infrastructure of the city.”

Shruti R, a student of Mount Carmel College: “Flooding of roads together with poor traffic management makes commuting across the city a nightmare. The space around the tree on footpaths have been concretised, leaving no room for the roots to grow. This weakens the tree roots and causes it to fall. The government must monitor these encroachments and the offenders must be fined. If the drainage system was well laid out then we wouldn’t have water entering houses and damaging private property.”

Mizba Aijaz Sait, a student of Mount Carmel College: “The recent rains have rendered the roads unmotorable. When it rains, the potholes become more visible and you really can’t distinguish between a road and a pothole because even the potholes get filled with water. If the roads were designed well then you would never find potholes. I also feel that the various government agencies must work together rather than blame each other. The blame game goes on but no work is completed and it is the citizens who bear the brunt of infrastructural shortcomings like bad roads and poor drainage systems.”

Pooja Nagarkoti, a student of Army Institute of Fashion and Design, says: “If the city was cleaner and there wasn’t so much garbage on the roads we wouldn’t see so many cases of dengu fever and other viruses affecting people. Garbage dumping in drains and at street corners have defaced the IT image of Bengaluru. Whenever it rains, garbage gets mixed with rainwater and spreads on the road. The litter is not cleared for days. Also stagnant drains are breeding spots for mosquitoes which add to the existing dengue cases.”