Down the drain

DOWN THE DRAIN

Deccan Herald

BANGALORE : Wooden furniture, clothes, thermocol, plastic to even gold — Bangalore’s StormWater Drains (SWDs) are turn ing out to garbage dumps. Whatwere essentially built for channelising rain water have now be come neighbourhood dustbins, much to the growing anxiety ofthe Bangalore Mahanagara Pa like.

The newly-desilted stretches ofKoramangala and Chel laghatta valleys, under the Rs 240-crore World Bank-funded SWD upgradation project, arealready full with over 25 truck load of debris. “We had desiltedthe stretches only last year be fore the monsoon, and laid new concrete beds and side walls. We are back to cleaning it again, as the debris is stopping the waterflow,” rues Mrutyunjaya, Super intendent Engineer, in charge of SWDs.

According to him, one of the biggest reason for overflow of SWDs is the disposal of debris into the drains, thereby choking it and triggering floods. “Last year, we did not face a floodingproblem in Koramangala. However, this year, the water threatened to overflow during the re cent summer showers, mainly because of choking of drains,” Mr Mrutyunjaya explains.

According to A M Ranganath, Chief Engineer (Projects), even dumping in small drains can contribute to the problem. “The garbage thrown in the smalldrains collect at SWDs and ag gravate the problem,” he says.

Most of the dumping occurs at night, when constructioncompanies throw tons of con struction materials, hospitals and industries dispose off their wastes, hoteliers stuff food wastes into plastic bags and leave it in SWDs, reveals MrRanganath. “Even the BMP em ployees themselves treat SWDs as dustbins,” Mr Ranganath adds.

As a remedial measure, the BMP has decided to give thrust to their recently-launchedSWORD (Storm Water Drain Obstruction Removal Drive) initia tive. The SWORD teams, four in number, are entrusted with the work of maintaining vigil alongSWDs to stop the disposal of de bris. “We will be increasingtheir number for better monitor ing,” Engineer-in-Chief Rame Gowda says.

The other more expensive measure is to fence the entire length of SWDs. Presently, only 1.5 km of the 257 km of SWDs have been fenced. “Fencing is an expensive exercise. We have identified nearly 30 vulnerable spots where we will fence,” Mr Rame Gowda elaborates.

Meanwhile, the BMP Com missioner K Jairaj is going to kickstart a public campaign inJune, that will focus on the responsibility of citizens in main taining the city. “Bangaloreans are irresponsible towards doing their bit for the city, dumping of debris into the SWDs being a prime example. We want them to understand their own duty ascitizens through this cam paign,” Jairaj says.