Garbage ‘floods’ Bangalore

Garbage ‘floods’ Bangalore
DH News Service Bangalore:
A visit by Deccan Herald to the four major valleys – Challaghatta,Vrushabhavathi, Komaramangala and Hebbal – revealed that the accumulation of large quantities of garbage and silt here led to the overlowing of rain-water and flooding of nearby residential areas.

It was due to collapsing of the retaining walls of a drain near Ulsoor that a woman was washed away. On Monday evening, efforts to retrieve the body were still on. Here the drain running along the A N M Road was choked with garbage and building debris. When it poured heavily, the gushing water overflowed, leading to the collapse of retaining walls.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy visited many rain-affected areas and directed officials to take appropriate action.

The retaining wall of Ulsoor lake has also collapsed and the footpath has caved in at many places.

Overflowing of drains also flooded nearby residential apartments in Ulsoor, while the BMTC terminal road in Shantinagar witnessed waste-water logging, making it difficult for pedestrians to cross it. Residents of Maruthinagar in Madiwala suffered due to the same reason.

Wall collapse

Retaining walls have collapsed at many other places too. It was from these damaged portions rain-water overflowed. Shoulder drains (through which rain-water from residential areas flows into these valleys) were also clogged. The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had assured that all shoulder drains would be closed, but they continue to remain open in some areas.

The BBMP’s much-discussed project to repair the faulty drains at the cost of Rs 768 crore has been “under progress” for the last two years.

The project, which was taken up in 2006, is going on at snail’s pace. “The project has been facing several hurdles. The major problem is of encroachment. Hundreds of unauthorised buildings have come up on the drain... The project can be implemented successfully only when these buildings are demolished,” BBMP sources said.

The BBMP has not been able to lay concrete on the surface of the drain as there is continuous flow of sewage. Of 230 km of storm-water drains, large quantity of sewage enters at around 60 km stretch (mostly in the previous BMP limits), officials said.

Now the BBMP has asked BWSSB to stop sewage flow into the drain.