Rain havoc: Bangalore civic body neck deep in trouble

Opposition members in the legislative council literally swooped down on the ruling Congress on Monday for the poor handling of the recent rain havoc in the city. Deputy chairperson in the council Vimala Gowda, who was in the chair, herself jumped into discussion by sharing her bitter experience.

“HSR Layout is one of the most posh layouts in the city. On that rainy day, every house was inundated. When I called BBMP authorities, they asked me to call the BDA. When I did so, they asked me to contact the BBMP. The attitude of the officers is disgusting,” Vimala asserted.

She further said the government had claimed that there had been no major tragedy in the city due to the rains. The in itself is a tragedy, Vimala remarked.

BJP MLC Tara Anuradha, who initiated the debate, urged that since the monsoons are on, the government should immediately take up repairing and remodeling of stormwater drains to save low-lying houses from inundation.

Senior JD(S) leader MC Nanaiah maintained that the situation is probably the worst in the vicinity of the Vidhana Soudha. “The BBMP engineers are sleeping. There is no outlet for water to drain out; it gets stagnant under most of the railway underbridges across the city. The rainwater reaches 3-4 feet in height, posing serious threat to people’s lives,” he added.

Former chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda patted his own back by stating that his government had spent Rs 17,000 crore on the development of Bangalore. If Bangalore gets the kind of rain Kodagu region gets for one day, half of the city will come under water, he noted.

In his reply, minister for IT SR Patil announced that the repair work of stormwater drains would be taken up immediately in phases across the city and the government would order an inquiry into the fake bill scam that took place during the earlier BJP rule. “We will not spare anyone however powerful he might be,” he added.