HSR Layout sinks in official apathy

BENGALURU: Assurances given by a Union Minister and an MLA to residents turned out to be empty promises as parts of HSR Layout were again heavily inundated in the downpour on Thursday.

It was the same old story for residents living on several streets of Sector 6, HSR Layout — waterlogged streets, water entering basements, submerged vehicles and lack of mobility. As per Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, HSR Layout received 37 mm of rain on Thursday. This time, even main roads were waterlogged, throwing traffic out of gear. On the interior roads, even four-wheelers found it tough to navigate the roads.

Following incessant rain in September, Union Minister for Chemicals, Fertilisers and Parliamentary Affairs and Lok Sabha MP from Bengaluru South Ananth Kumar and Bommanahalli MLA Satish Reddy had visited the area and assured residents that work would be taken up to ensure there was no flooding.
Jayprakash Shetty, a resident of 18th Cross in Sector 6, said the situation has not improved even after the visits of the minister and MLA. “We were prepared this time. Most houses have increased the slope leading up to their homes and basements. Many have stopped parking their vehicles in basements,” he said.

Jayprakash said the problem was a complex one and an expert needed to be consulted to study it and provide a solution. He said, “Several people have encroached on land near Begur Lake and their houses get flooded when it rains. To let the water out, they open the lake’s outlet at night, and all that water ends up flooding our low-lying area.”

MLA Satish Reddy said the water level in a SWD running from Madiwala lake was high.“The SWD is full because in the drain between Madiwala and Agara lakes, a 10-foot-long sewage pipe has been placed, which is blocking the flow of water,” he said. He said a solution would be to construct a parallel drain along the service road to drain out water from HSR Layout. He added that work on this paralled drain will be completed in one-and-a-half months.

HOSUR ROAD UNDER WATER

Commuters travelling to or from Electronics City had a tough time on Thursday as the stretch from Silk Board to Electronics City was heavily inundated. Videos and photographs posted on social media, including those uploaded by traffic police, showed the extent of flooding on Hosur Road, causing traffic congestion not only on Hosur Road, but even on the flyover. Several commuters took to social media to vent their ire.