City not prepared to deal with rain havoc: Minister

Bangalore City In-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy has said that the City’s lack of rain-preparedness is to be blamed for flooding of many localities.

The minister said that the BBMP’s failure to desilt drains and remove encroachments on storm water drains (SWDs) was the chief reason for flooding. “Shoulder drains, side drains, SWDs and natural drains should have been desilted. But the concerned authorities didn’t do it properly, hence the flooding,” Reddy told reporters during a visit to rain-affected areas here on Friday. He advised the BBMP to carry out the desilting of drains on war footing without waiting for approvals from the top.

Friday’s downpour — 10.3 cm — threw life out of gear in several parts of the City. H T Mallesh, a resident of Peenya, had died when rainwater that gushed into his temporary shed at Dasarahalli swept him away. Reddy announced an ex gratia payment of Rs one lakh for the next of kin of the victim.

Besides, 44 trees crashed down in different parts of the City. Areas such as Majestic, Adugodi, JP Nagar, Dasarahalli, Bhashyam Circle, Seshadripuram, Kathriguppe, Big Bazaar, Hanumanthanagar, Bank Colony, Ulsoor, Srinivasanagar, Shivajinagar and Peenya were flooded.

Reddy was informed that houses in several low-lying areas such as Srirampura, Prakash Nagar, Rajajinagar Industrial Area, Sarakki, Banashankari, Jayanagar, JP Nagar, Padmanabha Nagar, Gubbalala, Uttarahalli, Chandra Layout, Deepanjali Nagar, Kengeri, Bapujinagar, Sumanahalli, Hongasandra, Kodigehalli Cross, Gali Anjaneya Temple and Sudhamanagar were inundated.

Reddy also visited the Kempegowda Bus Stand where three vent pipes to drain the rainwater out were found closed.

The minister was welcomed with knee-deep water there. The KSRTC Bus Stand resembled a lake.