Man-made flood in HSR Layout

Man-made flood in HSR Layout
Officials Cut Road To Divert Overflowing Begur Tank Water
The Times of India

Bangalore: Some areas of HSR Layout are under two feet of water. This time round, don’t blame the non-stop rain on Monday. The flooding is largely man-made. Tuesday morning was a nightmare for over 750 houses in HSR Sectors VI and VII as water began flowing into their homes at 3 am.

Residents claim it was the “handiwork” of corporators and CMC officials. What led to the flooding, according to residents, was that the Magamanapalaya main road was cut and the water from overflowing Begur tank, which was flooding Madina Nagar, diverted into HSR layout. Over 250 cars were stuck, and several homes complained of short circuits. There was breakdown of power supply.

According to B N R Reddy, a resident, “Nobody has right to cut open a road but Magamanapalaya road was cut and water let into HSR Layout.”
“This was done by the CMC under the supervision of corporator, Ward 12, Syed Anwar,” HSR Sector V Residents’ Welfare Association secretary S Vishwanath said.

Anwar, however, claimed that he was unwell and hadn’t visited the spot. “But I’m aware of the road cutting. It was done at the behest of Uttarahalli MLA Ashok and carried out by the CMC. It was done because the situation at Madina Nagar was so bad, that all the homes there had come under water. Even their food items like rice and dhal were washed away.”

Though Bommanahalli CMC commissioner Udayshankar admitted the road was cut and water allowed into HSR Layout, he shrugged off the gravity of the situation by stating: “Anyway, the water will dry up by tomorrow.’’ But residents are livid. “A 4-acre park in our layout stands under two feet of water. Over 650 saplings have submerged. It will take two months for this water to dry up,” Viswanath said.

Several other lake shore areas had water rush into houses especially in Puttenahalli, while the situation in Saraipalya, which suffered from Nagwara tank overflowing, got worse.

Lake Development Authority CEO B K Singh said all lakes were earlier connected by channels that took excess water from one lake to another till they reached Bellandur Lake and, from there, Varthur Lake on to the Tennar river. But, today channels have either been encroached upon or broken. “Obviously, the water will overflow into the residential areas.”