Citizens Dump Government,Tackle Rain Fury On Their Own

Floodgates of hope here
Citizens Dump Government,Tackle Rain Fury On Their Own


The Times of India

Bangalore: Fighting the deluge on a war-footing, Bangaloreans have given up on the government which is either engaged in blame game or has just not woken up to the problems weighing heavy on its hands.

Every time it’d rain, K R Puram would go under water. But on Monday, while the low-lying Udayanagar roads had four feet of water, houses weren’t inundated and basements were dry!

And why not! Apartments in most parts of K R Puram have made huge investments on rustling up rain-fighting equipment and bought floodgates worth Rs 50,000, water-pumping machines worth Rs 25,000 and sandbags. These form part of their defence mechanism to fight the deluge.

“We’ve to fend for ourselves, and the government will do nothing about our problems. After the September floods, the chief minister visited our layout and promised action. But nothing happened. So we decided to take all precautionary measures ourselves,’’ said Pai Layout Residents’ Welfare Association vice-president M Chandrasekhar.

For instance, the residents of Sai Teja Sherwood have installed a water pump that throws water out at 1.5 litres per second. Also, the neighbourhood apartment has thick sheets of 10-ft-high floodgates that act as water-stoppers, each costing Rs 50,000.

“Every time it rains, our cars would sink. Even during the September floods, each resident spent close to Rs 75,000 for getting the vehicle repaired. Our complaints have fallen on the deaf ears. So, floodgates seem to be the only solution,’’ said Paramjot Singh, resident of Udaynagar.

Whenever the neighbouring Beneganahalli Lake overflows, all the low-lying areas get flooded, basements sink and water enters the lift. But that was till yesterday. The defence against rain is foolproof. Even the wafer-thin gap between the gate and the ground is covered with sacks of sand so that water does not enter this side of the compound border.

A few apartments that haven’t yet invested their bit were under water. Said Sumita Bharadwaj of Simhita Regency, “On Sunday, all the residents decided to pool in for floodgates. Guess we’ve realised it’s essential to survive here!’’