Rains strip city of its plush veneer

Rains strip city of its plush veneer
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: A downpour of just 34.4 millimeter and the city is naked! Rain for just two hours is enough to strip the city of its plush veneer and expose the poor town planning.

The monsoons are just two months away, and the city is not at all ready to bear the rains.

The floods in city, last year was played up in the national and international media and has etched a mark of poor infrastructure in the minds.

The oncoming monsoon will only strengthen this poor picture of the city. Nothing seems to be done, to save the city’s face.

The rains last week, showed a minuscule picture of how the city will look in the monsoons.

The roads were flooded and the drains overflowed. Hosur Road, Double Road, Bannerghatta Road and Wilson Garden were flooded. Traffic was jammed in many places.

This is nothing new, the city has seen worse times last year, but not learnt anything from it.

The pot holes on the roads stare at ones face, as if to threaten the commuters, and asking to fill them. But the Bangalore Mahanagar Palike is deaf to them, and has let the pot holes turn into puddles which in retaliation act as death traps to motorists.

The rains have spotted the pot holes, when will the BMP see them?

To add to the pathos, are the incomplete road works of the BMP. They are moving at a snail’s pace.

Lets pray that the incomplete roads may be ready at least for the next monsoons. If not, it may become mandatory for every Bangalorean house to park an ark.

The question will be of not how to drive in the rains but of how to row.

A few months, back politicians from every party visited flood hit areas and delivered big talks.

But the promises were washed away with the rain. Will the coming monsoon too, attract politicians and give them another chance for posing for photographs with relief material?