Heavy rains, accompanied by thunder, lightning and strong winds, lashed Bengaluru for over an hour on Friday evening. While many citizens, who were at home because of the lockdown, posted pictures of the rain and a cup of hot beverage or snacks on social media, residents of Tatanagar, Bhadrappa Layout, Hebbal Sarovara Layout and a few other areas near Hebbal Lake were not so fortunate.
The heavy rain inundated Hebbal Sarovara Layout, while the water level in the storm water drain in the area was dangerously high. Kiran Kumar, a resident of the layout, told The Hindu that on some roads, the water level was knee-high. “We had to shift around six to seven residents to higher ground,” he said.
The retaining wall of the SWD is just two to three feet high. “When it rains heavily, we are always anxious about overflow from the drain,” he added.
He claimed that BBMP officials had apprised the residents that the construction of RCC retaining wall from AMCO Layout to Yogesh Nagar bridge for the SWD between Hebbal Lake and Military dairy farm for ₹13 crore had been approved under the Chief Minister’s Nagarothana scheme.
In an email response to the residents, however, the BBMP’s chief engineer (SWD) stated that the lake development authorities were not permitting the civic body to take up the work, citing orders by the National Green Tribunal. The BBMP had also been asked to get permission from NGT directly for taking up the work.
