Year after monsoon mayhem, Bengalureans take steps to prevent flooding

BENGALURU: Drinking water mixed with sewage, rotting furniture and damaged vehicles — record rain that battered the city last year caused huge monetary losses to residents of low-lying areas in

Koramangala

and

HSR Layout

. Having been at the receiving end of an unsparing monsoon, they aren’t taking any chances this time. Many have built walls around sumps, raised the height of their gates or urged the authorities to desilt stormwater drains to prevent flooding.

“We were the worst affected during the 2017 floods, with water gushing into houses more than six times. There are about 5,000 houses in Koramangala 4th Block. More than half the occupants have either built walls around sumps or installed reversible valves, which will allow flow of sewage water from inside the house to the main sewage line, preventing its flow in the opposite direction,” said GM Shetty, president of Koramangala 4th Block residents welfare association, who incurred losses worth over Rs 90,000 last year.

Ground floors empty

A few house owners faced even more trouble as their ground-floor tenants disappeared after the deluge. In other cases, families moved to upper floors and stopped using the ground floor entirely. Residents say there are no takers for ground-floor houses now.

“Apart from entering my house and garden, rainwater would get into the sump and pollute drinking water. I had to pay Rs 1,000 every time to get it cleaned. To prevent it from happening this year, I built a 3-ft wall around the sump. If it doesn’t rain in the next few months, I may remove the wall as I can’t park my car inside the compound,” said William Panakal, a resident.

Around 93 residents of the area had written to the MLA claiming compensation ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh. “The letter has been sent to BBMP and the agency has to process the claims. When I spoke to the authorities, they said they wouldn’t be able to give us the whole amount,” said Shetty.

ST Bed Layout

residents haven’t taken any precautionary measures, choosing to depend on the BBMP instead. “Individually, we haven’t taken any action, but as an association, we requested the Palike to raise and strengthen walls of the stormwater drain, as this was the reason for last year’s flooding. Since the agency has done the needful, we hope a crisis will be prevented,” said Sudhindra N, whose house was flooded last time.

In HSR Layout too, residents have erected barriers in front of their houses or sumps. “The BBMP has conducted a desilting drive and reinforced drain walls, so we are hoping the drains don’t overflow,” said BNR Reddy, chairman of the Federation of HSR Layout Residents Welfare Association.

After the floods, Koramangala residents immediately approached their MLA Ramalinga Reddy, and asked him to take long-term measures to preventing flooding. The appeal seems to have been considered. Construction of a drain parallel to the SWD along Koramangala 80 Ft Road (from Sony World signal junction to Maharaja signal to Bellandur Lake) will begin on Monday. This drain will carry excess water from Koramangala and surrounding areas to the lake and the project is expected to cost Rs 23 crore.