CM visits victims of rain fury

Officials directed to clear encroachment on storm water drains

Arriving from the Adi Chunchungiri Mutt by helicopter, the CM visited various locations in the City which were heavily damaged by the rains, said to be the heaviest in 20 years.

Yeddyurappa along with the officials from various civic agencies and Minister in-charge, Katta Subramanaya Naidu visited the areas. “The rain-affected areas were mostly inhabited by the poor along New BEL Road, Cotton Road, Kurubarahalli and other areas. The officials have been on a war footing to ensure that the City is safe,” he observed. Making his first stop at the water-logged Gowri Apartments along New BEL Road, he asked the BBMP authorities to act swiftly to provide relief to the residents.

While authorities argued that the storm water drains (SWD) was encroached upon by other nearby buildings and the matter was related to a private land, the CM said, the BBMP should bear the cost of expanding the drains to increase the vent.

Accordingly, the BBMP, which has already begun to pump out water from the apartment complex, has agreed to clean the SWD and remodel it to increase the capacity of water it can hold.

He later inspected the collapse of the retaining walls for the SWD along the IISC campus. Holding the authorities responsible for poor quality of retaining walls of the tertiary drains in Vidyanandanagara, residents staged a protest as soon as the CM entered the narrow lanes of the vicinity. People accosted Yeddyurappa and spoke of the woes that had multiplied because of the rains.

He said that under various schemes, the Government would rehabilitate the people who have been living close to the SWDs. He also gave a cheque for Rs 10,000 to Venkatesh, a bullock cart owner. Venkatesh who used to work by transporting material to shops at the APMC yard, had lost both his cart and the bullock which were washed away during the heavy rains.

Task force on drains

The State government should immediately set up a task force to conduct a survey of encroachment of storm water drains in Bangalore and take steps to clear them, Opposition Leader in the Legislative Council V S Ugrappa said on Friday.

He alleged that the funds meant for de-silting of the drains have been misused in the BBMP. In most places, retaining walls are constructed using mud. Besides, a huge amount of money had been spent in the name of flood management programme. But, flooding still continues in the city. The government, should come out with a White Paper on the de-silting project and the flood management programme,” he said.

Govt in damage control mode

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa discusses with the officials on measures to tackle rain fury.

The BBMP to demolish the small bridge at the Vidyanagara junction over a tertiary storm water drain. It resulted in flooding of Shankarnagara slums. CM approves a new Rs 40-lakh bridge to be built.

Minister Shivraj S Thangadagi visits APMC yard near Yeshwantpur and directs BBMP to suspend two officers for negligence, leading to flooding.