Number of homes that were flooded dropped to 50 from 10,000 in May: BBMP

Work on drainage underway at Rainbow Drive Layout on Sarjapur road in Bengaluru on Thursday. | Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR

Bengaluru

Is the city finally managing to tackle rain woes? As the monsoon season approaches, data given by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) claimed that flood management had improved significantly as compared to the previous year. 

According to the data, in a drastic dip, the number of homes that were flooded had come down to 50 from 10,000 this May, compared to last year. The BBMP said that it had learnt lessons from last year’s flooding instances that brought Bengaluru to its knees. 

Between May and June last year, according to the data shared by the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), about 10,000 houses witnessed inundation exposing the BBMP’s lax preparedness to handle pre-monsoon flooding. The city had then received over 254 mm of rainfall, and the civic body had blamed the volume of rainfall for the damages. In September, when the flood wreaked havoc across Bengaluru, the BBMP swung into action to identify rajakaluve encroachments and kicked off a demolition drive. 

Several layouts, such as Rainbow Drive Layout off Sarjapur Road and Sri Sai Layout in Horamavu saw waist-deep waterlogging, forcing residents to be ferried on boats and tractors. The areas that were hit by pre-monsoon showers last year were Rajarajeshwarinagar, Nayandahalli, Horamavu, Vadrapalya, K.R. Puram, Mahadevapura, Indiranagar, Hosakerehalli, Yelahanka, Govindarajanagar, Mahalakshmi Layout, Dasarahalli, HSR Layout, Seshadripuram, and HBR Layout.

This May, despite receiving the highest rainfall of 31 cm breaking a 66-year-old record, the BBMP said a little over 50 houses saw waterlogging. The flood prone layouts did not report flooding this year as the BBMP took up storm-water drain (SWD) works.

The BBMP, with the help of the disaster management authority, identified 229 areas vulnerable to flooding. Bengaluru East Zone with 61 localities topped the list. 

Somashekhar, Assistant Director, Bengaluru, Disaster Management Cell, said 10,860 houses were flooded between May 17, 2022, and June 17, 2022. However, this year, the authority had not received any damage report.

Neelufar Ahmed, a resident of Sri Sai Layout, said compared to last year, the situation had improved as the BBMP made some progress in drain works. While last year, many houses were flooded, this May, water entered only two houses.

On the other hand, Palani Loganathan from Rainbow Drive Layout said: “I would not compare the two years as my area did not receive the same quantum of rainfall as last year.”

Tushar Giri Nath, Chief Commissioner, BBMP, told The Hindu that identification of missing SWDs due to encroachment helped the civic body contain the damage caused by the rains. The remodelling of drains, flood response, and overall preparedness significantly brought down flooding, he said, adding that the civic body has formed 63 teams at different levels, and is ready to tackle the rains.