'True, you and I are responsible for city drains'

Transport minister and minister in-charge of Bangalore, who has recently also assumed responsibility for the state home ministry as well, R Ashoka, on Saturday dropped a bombshell that blasted the collective conscience of one million Bangaloreans. He said that neither the government nor the BBMP could really be blamed for the inundation of low-lying areas of the city on Friday.

Residents must help themselves, he said. Reacting to the minister’s statement, civic activist, radiologist, and leader of the Lower Palace Orchard Residents’ Association, Dr Rajan B, tells DNA that there is indeed some truth in the minister’s statement; however, the government could not be absolved when such incidents affect the life and property of millions.

Do you agree with the minister’s statement that residents are to blame for the floods the city witnessed on Friday night?
Unlike other major metros, Bangalore is fortunate that its natural topography has undulations, elevations and valleys, keeping it relatively free of the problem of flooding. The unbridled, unplanned urban sprawl of recent years has encroached upon natural drainage pathways. The numerous lakes that dotted Bangalore earlier acted like huge rainwater sponges, but all that is now gone. Yes, we citizens have only ourselves to blame for unplanned development.

Would you say that the proliferation of private layouts and illegal construction are responsible for the mess?
Many private layouts have well planned drainage systems. But if the natural Rajakaluves are encroached upon, we are asking for such disasters. The city has a reasonably good drainage system, but low-lying areas are bound to get periodically flooded when their capacity is overwhelmed by sudden high volume storms. Scientists have predicted that with global warming, local weather patterns will become unpredictable.

Erratic rainfall patterns are the result of this, coupled with local factors like deforestation, loss of green cover, loss of lakes, etc.  The other problem, of course, is that the existing storm water drains themselves are silted up with garbage and urban refuse, including animal and industrial wastes. It is a Herculean task to clean up all this muck. Where does one dump all this?

What solutions would you suggest?
Citizens could start from their own homes. Percolation pits are useful to recharge ground water from rain. RWAs must identify spots where the shoulder drains could be diverted into groundwater recharge spots. The bulk of the precipitation over Bangalore can be  exploited. Most of it now enters the storm water drains, only to be wasted. Lakes must be rejuvenated on a war footing. Water will be the most precious natural resource in future.