Dharam Singh inspects Sankey Tank, sore over shoddy work

Dharam Singh inspects Sankey Tank, sore over shoddy work

The Hindu

People said the consultant engaged for the lake's restoration did not do a proper job



ON A MISSION: Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh inspecting the Sankey Tank along with MLA R. Roshan Baig and Mayor R. Narayanaswamy in Bangalore on Saturday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh went around Sankey Tank on Saturday, seeing the situation for himself both from the Malleswaram and Sadashivanagar ends. Mayor R. Narayanaswamy and Bangalore Mahanagara Palike Commissioner K. Jothiramalingam were with him.

On Friday, The Hindu had reported about the tank overflowing and submerging all the pathways, boat jetties and landscaping done around the water body at a cost of Rs. 5 crores by the BMP.

Speaking to presspersons, Mr. Singh said: "It is obvious something has seriously gone wrong ... whatever was planned had not taken into account the effects of heavy rain or means for excess water to flow out.''

He said a high-level committee of officials and legislators with representatives from the BMP would go into the matter and examine all aspects, including funds possibly misused. "If anyone is found guilty of malpractice, we will take stern action," he said.

The details about the land granted by the erstwhile government of the princely State of Mysore to the late Dewan M.R. Srinivasan would also be gone into and the records examined to see how close to the waterline the private property extended.

"You tell us what should be done and it will be done but no more makeshift repairs," Mr. Singh told BMP officials there. He wanted plans to prevent such flooding in the future here and at other tanks and lakes in and around Bangalore.

Residents of the area who crowded around the Chief Minister told him that the private consultant engaged to design the lake's restoration had not done a proper job or taken into account the possibility of heavy rain which could fill up the tank faster than in normal times. Rajajinagar MLA and former corporator N.L. Narendra Babu who accompanied the Chief Minister blamed it on faulty designing and poor construction of supporting walls. There was also need to extend the backwaters of the tank so that excess water had space to flow into.

While the Chief Minister did not openly blame anyone, he was visibly unhappy that a lot of public money spent on the tank had gone waste. He was also sore that the strengthening of the retaining walls was not carried out well before the rainy season.

Long-time residents of Sadashivanagar, including the former Bangalore bureau chief of The Hindu and former MLC P. Ramiah, Ramanathan and K.K. Murthy told Mr. Singh that the periphery of the lake should not have been tampered with. More than 2,000 persons used to walk or jog around the pleasant surroundings of the tank in the mornings or evenings.

"The work executed was obviously substandard since the BMP had to rebuild the retaining walls at several places. The civic administration should not try to shield the contractor but make him responsible for the restoration once again," they said.