Visvesvaraya rail terminal flooding caused by overflowing valley gutter, says SWR

Last Friday’s flooding of the new Sir M Visvesvaraya Railway Terminal in Baiyappanahalli was caused by an overflowing valley gutter leading to the rainwater drain, says the South Western Railways (SWR).

“The overflow resulted in the ingress of rainwater into the main building for some time. The same stopped once the downpour subsided. The gutter will now be thoroughly examined again and remedial measures put in place,” assures the SWR spokesperson.

DH had reported that the downpour flooded the entire subway linking the terminal’s first seven platforms.

Workers had to waddle through knee-deep water before flushing the water out of the area. The flooding had raised serious safety issues.

The roof of the terminal’s main canopy building was completed in September 2020. The SWR official said the tests subsequently did not show any leakage or defect during the last monsoon, until December 2020.

Also read: New Visvesvaraya rail terminal: Built like an airport, flooded by downpour

Though the main drainage system is in place to take care of daily usage, work on the rainwater harvesting (RWH) system is in the final leg of completion and is yet to be commissioned.

“The system has been designed duly taking into account all the relevant parameters.”

Currently, the official explained, the entire water from the roof of the main canopy is being diverted to the main drainage system leading to the water recycling plant. “The system is designed in such a way that the total wastewater enters the recycling plant and surplus water, if any, will be discharged into the BWSSB drain located on the main road.”

Besides, the recycling plant has reached its full capacity of 4 lakhs and outflow is less due to minimum maintenance activities at the terminal. “Thus, the plant was not switched on,” the official said.

This has resulted in the drain carrying more than its capacity owing to the sudden downpour, resulting in the back flow into the subway.

“The accumulated subway water has naturally drained within half an hour of the cessation of the downpour.”

Once the RWH system is commissioned, the official said the uninterrupted flow of rainwater into the designated channels of the drain will be ensured.