BDA proposes mega project to eradicate Pai Layout’s woes

BDA proposes mega project to eradicate Pai Layout’s woes
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The woes of the ever-flooded Pai Layout worsen whenever it rains. The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has come to its rescue this season and has taken up work to divert the rainwater and construct rainwater drains.

Thanks to Chief Minister Dharam Singh’s visit to the Layout last month, the BDA prepared a detailed project report and submitted it to the Government. The work is estimated to cost Rs 2.6 crore.

BDA officials are hopeful of Government approval for the project soon.

“As soon as we get the go-ahead, we will commence the work,” BDA Commissioner M N Vidyashankar said.

The Project is expected to be completed in a couple of months.

“We will definitely finish the construction before the next monsoon,” he said. The Chief Minister had assured the people that their problems would be solved.

Though Pai Layout comes under KR Puram CMC limits, the BDA has taken up the Project.

“The people have been suffering for over 30 years. We are helping them out of a sense of humanity,” he claimed.

The Layout is in a low-lying area and close to the Beniganahalli lake. When it rains, the lake overflows and the whole areas is flooded. The lake water travels a distance of a kilometre, passes through an outlet under the Salem railway line and collects on the other side.

It cannot go any further as the DRDO lab has constructed a compound wall. The water begins to rise above five feet.

Last month, the Fire Force had to drain water from the basement of the apartments and rescue the people. Residents say that the flow of water has increased ever since the completion of the cable-stayed bridge and Beniganahalli flyover.

There are 52 buildings, which have nearly 1,300 flats. But, there is no secondary drainage, no piped drinking water, no sewage lines and no roads.

There is only one main road, which is often inundated in the rainwater. The Layout does not even receive Cauvery water from the BWSSB.