Should people fend for themselves?

Mr CHIEF MINISTER, Mr MAYOR, Mr COMMISSIONER
Should people fend for themselves?
The Times of India

Bangalore: One rain and the city grinds to a halt. Potholes, dug-up roads, overflowing drains, stagnant water, stranded traffic, falling trees, live-wire tragedies, power shutdowns — this is the miserable scene in the hi-tech city.

Who will save Bangaloreans? Mr CM, Mr Mayor, Mr Commissioner, are you listening?
Following Tuesday’s rains, helpless residents called up various emergency services — police, fire, BCC, Bescom. But nothing worked. Is anybody bothered about the citizen?

All of them plead helplessness — lack of funds, lack of manpower, lack of this and lack of that.

Who is to blame? Tell us Mr CM, Mr Mayor, Mr Commissioner?
The BCC claims: “We’ve done everything.’’ Reels out statistics. “Storm water drains are cleared.’’ How come houses are flooded?

BCC commissioner K. Jothiramalingam says: “Desilting was done a month ago, so in areas like Shivajinagar, we did not receive complaints. If 60 mm rain pounds the city in less than 45 minutes, it will take time for the city to return to normal. Our engineers, the special commissioner and I visited all affected areas. We are more than willing to come to people’s rescue, if they tell us their problems.’’

Will mere visits help, Mr Commissioner?

Over to mayor R. Narayanswamy: “Things work better when I sit at office and issue orders; my word as mayor carries weight. I constantly monitor control rooms and zonal offices.’’

Bescom pours out its own woes. Here’s Bescom chief Bharat Lal Meena: “We’ve no choice. The only solution to power cuts in rain is for all cables to go underground. We need at least Rs 5,000 crore for that. Do we have that kind of money?’’

Do people have to grope in dark?
Traffic, the less said the better. Traffic lights are switched off to prevent short-circuits. And traffic cops run for cover: they claim they don’t have headgear, reflective jackets and their raincoats are 10 years old.

DCP Traffic (East) M.A. Saleem admits: “When there is heavy rain, the movement of vehicles halts and even policemen take shelter in the traffic umbrella. The real problem starts when the rain stops...’’

The ‘problem’ turned out to be that new DG and IGP B.N.P. Albuqurque himself getting stuck.

So all have problems. But people want solutions. All officials say solutions lie with the CM: he is responsible for Bangalore Development.

TIMES PHONE-IN

SPEAK YOUR MIND
Bangalore comes to a grinding halt whenever it rains. Who do you hold responsible for this? Suggest one measure which will help solve the problem

When it rains


BCC: We’ve done everything. Bescom: We shut off power. Govt: We pull up officials. Result: No solution.