The rainfall on September 18 evening turned many roads in Bengaluru into puddles while traffic came to a standstill in the IT hub of Varthur and Whitefield after two Road Under Bridges (RUB) in Panathur and on Croma Road were inundated. The car of an IT employee was reportedly submerged near the Croma Road RUB.
Residents of these areas reported that they are fed up with Ministers, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (before elections) making false assurances of fixing the issue of flooding, which is mostly a result of encroachment of rajakaluves (storm water drains).
To attract more attention to the problem, the residents on September 19 christened Croma Road RUB as Kanakana Kindi.
“The residents staying here are large contributors to the city’s economy and yet, the conditions here are so bad. With the storm water drains (SWDs) overflowing, even human waste was floating around on the roads,” said Jagadish Reddy, a citizen activist from Varthur. “The Croma Road RUB is built on an SWD and is illegal. However, we have to use that road, as there is no other option.”
The residents pointed out that Panathur Road, which is very narrow, should be widened to avoid traffic snarls when it rains. “The road is approximately 15 feet wide while the population there is around 1 lakh. The road needs to be widened immediately,” Mr Reddy said. “As funds have been stopped for projects in Bengaluru, we want the Chief Minister to use his discretionary powers and provide immediate attention to these problems.”
Balagere Road and Whitefield Main Road were also severely inundated during the rains, residents said.
Bengaluru recorded around 2 centimetres of rainfall on September 18. Officials of India Meteorological Department (IMD) Bengaluru said that this was a normal quantum of rainfall for the month of September.
A member of Whitefield Rising said, “The rains on September 18 evening were not heavy. It hardly rained for an hour. Yet, Whitefield Main Road and Varthur Kodi were waterlogged, leading to traffic jams. Even with a small quantum of rain, the SWDs are getting clogged. Every year, funds are allotted to fix the flooding issues here but, so far, we are not seeing any progress. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials have been working on clearing encroachments and desilting SWDs for three years now. So, why this flooding?”
Not just the IT hub, but according to the advisories put out by the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP), many other major points, like Sankey Tank Road, Old Madras Road, Jayamahal Road, Queen’s Junction, Anil Kumble Circle, Shivananda Circle underpass, Cantonment RUB, BDA junction on Ballari Road, Baiyyappanahalli junction, and parts of Bannerghatta Road, were inundated on September 18 evening.
BBMP Chief Civic Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath attributed the waterlogging throughout Bengaluru to long gaps between rainfall. “When there is a huge gap between each rainfall, solid waste gets accumulated and chokes the grates of drains. After the first rain, the waste comes out. We clean it. Subsequently, there is no waterlogging. However, if there is a long gap between rains, then the drains get clogged,” he explained.
The city has so far recorded around 16 centimetres of rainfall, which is normal for this period. Rains, sometimes accompanied with thunder, are expected in Bengaluru during the evening and night hours for the next four days, according to the IMD.
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