15 days of rain in 5 hours: CM Bommai blames weather for flooding

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who on Thursday inspected at least five badly flooded areas of the city with his cabinet colleagues, blamed the record rains for the havoc.

During a closed-door meeting that followed the inspection, Bommai is said to have advised Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials to hold regular field visits.

“The quantum of rainfall that the city used to witness over a period of 15 days in the month of May was recorded in just four to five hours on Tuesday. This was the main cause of flooding. Naturally, all the low-lying areas were flooded. This has been happening for the last three to four decades,” Bommai told reporters.

Decongesting the city is the only way to reduce the flooding problems in the future, he suggested.

Rs 1,600-crore grants

Bommai, who holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, vowed to release Rs 1,600 crore to modernise the stormwater drain system.

“The detailed project report (DPR) for the development of stormwater drains is currently being prepared. The work of conducting a survey, design, estimation and identification of bottlenecks is underway. The groundwork will start soon,” he assured.

He said the state government has already released Rs 400 crore to carry out missing stormwater drain works. He said the old and narrow bridges across the Vrishabhavathi Valley will be replaced since they have become bottlenecks.

On Thursday, the Chief Minister inspected JC Nagar 5th Block of HBR Layout and Nagawara metro station, among other places.

He also reviewed the work progress of the sewage treatment plant being constructed at Hebbal to process 100 million litre per day (MLD) of wastewater.

Bommai mentioned that the proposal to increase the STP’s capacity by a further 60 MLD has been approved.

Siddaramaiah, HDK take stock of the situation

Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah visited rain-hit areas in Gandhinagar, Shivajinagar and Byatarayanapura constituencies on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah accused the BJP government of corruption. "Under the guise of filling up potholes, thousands of crores of money have been eaten. This has to be investigated," he said. "Also, when we were in power, stormwater drain encroachments were being cleared. This has stopped. People have been allowed to build homes on drains. They must be cleared."

JD(S) Legislature Party leader H D Kumaraswamy said he will tour Bengaluru from Friday to examine rain-related damages.

"The city has seven ministers who have failed to take care of the infrastructure. Albeit the meteorology department's warning, the government took no action to ensure people's safety," Kumaraswamy charged.