One more rain and God save city

One more rain and God save city
‘Helpless’ BMP Engineers Warn Of More Havoc, Misery
The Times of India

Bangalore: Just one unseasonal rain of 34.4 mm on Saturday evening. And three areas — Hosur Road, Double Road, Lakkasandra in Wilson Garden — are flooded with rain-drain-sewage water.

The city has been witnessing rainfall of varied intensity across different areas from Saturday. And the forecast is not good: The meteorological department says rain will continue for the next 24-48 hours.
Has civic Bangalore learnt any lessons from last year’s deluge and the attendant problems thereon? Apparently not. All that engineers at the BMP do is warn: if heavy rain continues for a few days, the city will be in the soup. And they are helpless.

Desilting work which the officials and workers can undertake only in the night is a problem. Engineer-inchief Rame Gowda declared at a recent BMP council meeting, “We are not prepared for the monsoon this year. By next year we will be in a comfortable position.’’

What exactly is the status of Bangalore vis-a-vis civic preparedness for monsoon? Sources say 50 per cent of work has been done. At Lakkasandra, some roads were flooded till late Sunday despite a sunny afternoon. Engineers explain that this is again because the adjacent drain has been choked beyond capacity.

The biggest problem however is that of encroachments. Explains BMP superintending engineer (storm water projects) Mrutyunjay, “After the rain I went on an inspection and had to remove 25 truckloads of debris from Challaghatta valley. There was everything one can ever find — furniture, helmets, mattresses, commodes, clothes. People dump anything that they don’t use into the storm water drains and then expect their areas to be absolutely clear during the monsoon. How is that possible when they have clogged the exit point for the water?’’
Excuses and explanations is all people get. What is the solution?