Going down the DRAIN

Going down the DRAIN
POINT 3: Widen existing drains, ensure better interlinking and make sure people don’t dump debris in them
TIMES NEWS NETWORK


The 2005 floods were a rude wakeup call for the civic authorities in Bangalore. But three years and a flurry of half-measures later, the city is still sitting on cramped, choking drains that could spell havoc in the coming years. Pre-monsoon showers this year have given enough indications of what to expect during the monsoon.
While residents in the low-lying areas and lake neighbourhoods are getting ready for the monsoon ritual by putting together temporary measures like sand sacks in front of their houses and plastic covers to shield their water sumps, the call is for a comprehensive plan to address the bigger issue of a fast-crumbling drain infrastructure.
Talks about remodelling the drains across Bangalore have been doing the rounds for years together. In a situation where rampant encroachment of the drains has made drain-widening itself an arduous ask, civic agencies like the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) are pushing for tougher measures. “The survey we had taken up on encroachment of stormwater drains is still on.
After the results are compiled, we’ll forward them to the government for its perusal,’’ says Chikkarayappa, chief engineer, BBMP.
Studies in the past, commissioned for the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), had pointed out that the capacity of Bangalore’s stormwater drains had to be substantially increased and new and re-constructed culverts put in place. Tackling the encroachment of the rajakaluves will be of top priority as the administrators zero in on plans for the city’s drains for the future.
The newly elected MLAs had a taste of the problem at hand during their visits to areas like Puttenahalli and Chennamanakere. “With the help of civic agencies, we are working out a strategy to compensate those who have already built structures on these drains, so that the encroachments could be removed and the drains revived,’’ says Satish Reddy, BJP MLA from Bommanahalli.
Areas that have been prone to flooding — including Geddanahalli, Chandra Layout, HSR Layout, Azadnagar and Madiwala — have all witnessed massive growth in real estate activity over the past 10 years. While the officials agree, on conditions of anonymity, that builders have allied with the departments concerned in encroaching lake beds and rajakaluves, residents feel that only hard-line measures like mass eviction of encroachers could help the cause, at least, in the future. “It’s a tough situation because apartments and individual houses have been built on and close to these canals and drains. Restructuring these drains will mean a drive to clear these structures that could lead to public unrest,’’ reasons Rajendra Babu, a resident of Madiwala.
Interlinked drain network
The way forward is in enhancing the capacity of existing drains that can be widened, ensuring better interlinking among them and public awareness against dumping of litter and construction material in the open drains.
The stormwater drain division of the BBMP is working on a proposal for underground drains in identified areas like Puttenahalli.
The BBMP has also proposed an ambitious project of roads over drains running up to around 15 kms. Planned in four segments (KH Road to Intermediate Ring Road, Old Madras Road to Challaghatta valley, HAL Airport Road to Bellandur Lake and Outer Ring Road to Hebbal valley), the RoD initiative has found favour with some experts who, however, call for caution against going overboard. According to them, topography and the drains’ vulnerability to additional choking should be kept in mind before venturing out on the RoD experiment.
But that’s for later. In a city sitting on clogging drains, the need now is for a political will to crack down on the offenders and a planning-redressal system that works beyond the monsoon helplines.
Towards Decongested DRAINS
Awareness on perils of dumping litter in drains Experts to work with engineers in civic agencies More focus on environment-specific drain engineering Tough stance on encroachment Time-bound projects that don’t take long More emphasis on rainwater harvesting Comprehensive project to cover open drains Check mixing of sewage with open drain water Dedicated helplines through the year and action groups