Bengaluru Police prepare to avoid monsoon chaos

Bengaluru: Ahead of the full force of the monsoon, the Bengaluru Traffic Police have taken up several preparatory measures to avoid vehicular movement coming to a screeching halt across the city.

Pre-monsoon showers that battered the city over the past week brought forth flooded roads and fallen trees, which had a major impact on traffic flow.

To ensure this is not the norm and they can effectively tackle some of these challenges through a multi-agency approach, the traffic police have, over the past two months, held several coordination meetings with civic agencies such as the BBMP, the BWSSB, Bescom, and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).

“Areas prone to waterlogging, trees that can pose a danger to safety, contacting the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force if there is any flooding anywhere, and steps to be taken if a live wire snaps were some of the topics discussed,” said M N Anucheth, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic). He noted that ground inspections of different vulnerable areas revealed that, in some places, the roadside shoulder drains were either not desilted or were disconnected from the larger stormwater drain network.

The problem of debris and animal waste dumping in the shoulder and stormwater drains persists. When blocked, they cause water to pool on the surface and flood the roads.

In total, the traffic police have identified 113 waterlogging spots across the city.

In coordination with the BMRCL, they have set aside water pumps in four places, including areas such as Ramamurthy Nagar in the east and Arekere in the south, to pump out any water that collects around shoulder drains that cannot be connected to a stormwater drain due to ongoing metro construction.

If tree-falling incidents are reported, the traffic police coordinate with the local BBMP officials to clear the tree using an electric tree-cutting saw present in each ward office. Additionally, they contact Bescom officials if an electric pole falls over and a live wire is exposed.

Additionally, Anucheth noted that officers have been deputed to manage traffic at metro underbridges and crucial underpasses prone to waterlogging to avoid traffic coming to a standstill.