Karnataka: Activists blame encroachment of waste weir for flooding on National Highways

BENGALURU: Residents of Kaniminike in Kengeri are up in arms against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the state government, alleging that the massive flooding of the under-construction 10-lane Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway is a result of encroachment.
Following heavy rain on Saturday, a portion of the highway was washed away, even as the newly built toll booths were inundated. Downpour filled Mage Kere and Hosa Kere lakes at Kaniminike in Kumbalgodu gram panchayat causing them to overflow.
Kaniminike residents told TOI that the highway was built encroaching the waste weir (kere kodi) and water has nowhere to go but flow on to the road to reach Vrishabhavathi river. After Mage Kere is filled, water moves to Hosa Kere downstream and from there, to the river through kere kodis.
Rama Krishnappa, a retired police inspector and resident, said after laying a road on the waste weir NHAI has built a narrow channel for water to flow. But the channel is incapable of handling huge quantities of water during heavy rain.
The road is located just about 20ft from the rear-end of the lake and the government has allowed construction of a private school on rajakaluves, he alleged. Both NHAI and the government are at fault, he said.
Laxminarayana, another resident, alleged that despite knowing about the presence of the waste weir at the spot, the engineers ignored it while planning. The engineers' approach to build a channel as a substitute has also gone wrong as it is very narrow, he added.
Ramprasad V, a lake activist, alleged that waterways of 35 lakes have been encroached for this expressway and a detailed analysis of the project will not only expose lack of planning but also design flaws. He said flooding of the highway on multiple stretches will become a regular phenomenon during monsoon. This is a man-made disaster and engineers should be booked if any untoward incident occurs at the time of flooding, he said.
Raghavendra B Pachhapur, another activist, said this shows that authorities do not care for waterbodies while carrying out infrastructure projects. The water flowing out from the lake cannot be stopped and now, there seems to be no alternative to check this, he said.