JOIN USBengaluru MLAs meet on June 5 to review monsoon preparedness
MLAs representing the Bengaluru constituencies, both from the Congress and the BJP, will meet on Monday to discuss the city’s preparedness for the forthcoming monsoon.
This will be the first meeting under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who has taken over as the Bengaluru Development Minister.
Ahead of the meeting, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has made a presentation on the measures it has taken to tackle the monsoon showers that wreaks havoc in the city each year.
Officials said the BBMP has set up an integrated command centre that works round-the-clock to receive complaints from residents. To ensure swift action, it has assembled 64 teams of engineers for de-watering and clearing of trees, among other things.
So far, the BBMP has remodelled 491 km of stormwater drains and is working on another 195 km. However, it is yet to take up similar work along 174 km of stormwater drains, where the problem of flooding could get far worse. The BBMP said there are 198 flood-vulnerable points in the city.
The municipal body has achieved little success in removing encroachments from stormwater drains: 784 encroachments are yet to be cleared. Of this, 118 are being challenged in various courts.
At the meeting, officials are also expected to draw the attention of MLAs to the dramatic increase in rainfall. There has been a 70% increase in rainfall between March and May this year. The number of rain days was 80 last year as compared to the average of 57, as per the climatological data.
Other projects
Along with monsoon preparedness, the BBMP is likely to inform the MLAs of its other initiatives, including the collection and transportation (C&T) of waste, the recent expansion of health infrastructure, and the progress in building 18 flyover projects.
Other agencies such as Namma Metro, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Bescom, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP), BMTC, Bengaluru Smart City Ltd and the Bengaluru Traffic Police are expected to make separate presentations.