Shower of good news: Rain info every 15 min

The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) has set up rain gauges at 10 locations under BBMP limits, which will provide rain-related information every 15 minutes, helping officials take precautions.

Over the last two days, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike came under criticism on social media over flooded roads and clogged drains, especially the water-logged Kadugodi underpass.

On Saturday, BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad held a meeting with officials on rain preparations and enquired about the issues that have cropped up in the last three days due to rain.

KSNDMC officials said gauges will give immediate information on rain. “We will also get alerts from sensors installed in 25 stormwater drains to measure water flow. Based on information from rain gauges and sensors, we will be able to take precautionary measures and issue warnings to the public to prevent any untoward incident,” the commissioner said.

63 control rooms

There are nine permanent control rooms in the city. In addition to this, 63 new control rooms will come up in sub-divisions of each zone, where
staffers will respond to complaints and immediate measures will be taken during emergencies.

The commissioner asked officials to invite short-term tenders for appointing staff and for procuring machines and tools necessary for emergency relief in the 63 control rooms. He also instructed officials to increase the number of teams clearing fallen trees and branches from 21 to 28.

Officials in charge of SWD said a silt-removing
machine, two trucks to carry the silt and 156 staffers have been put on standby.

“Set up teams to monitor the flow of rainwater on main roads and crossroads in every zone. Immediate measures should be taken up to fill potholes on all roads. Ensure that there are no casualties and no property is damaged during the rain,” Manjunath Prasad told officials of Road and Infrastructure wing of the BBMP.

The commissioner also asked officials to create awareness on the ‘Sidilu’ app developed by the KSNDMC.

He suggested that workshops be conducted to spread information among the public.