Bengaluru rains: HC tells civic body to set up ward-wise grievance cell for citizens

On September 7, the Karnataka High Court ordered the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to immediately establish a ward-wise grievance cell, in order to address the issues of people who are experiencing difficulties as a result of the heavy rainfall observed in Bengaluru.

"A ward engineer in each ward shall be notified to deal with the grievance of inhabitants of the ward," stated a division bench consisting of Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice S Vishwajith Shetty. The corporation informed the court that in order to control the overflow of water from the lakes during periods of heavy rain and to prevent floods, a proposal is being drafted to erect sluice gates for all of the city's lakes, reported LiveLaw.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed in 2015 to draw attention to the issue of the city's poor condition of roads and overflowing drain water. The court further said that the proposal must be drafted by BBMP and immediately presented to the state government for approval, per the bench's directive. Regarding the current situation, the BBMP's counsel told the court that the civic body has dispatched pump sets and that its employees are working around the clock to try to drain the water from the impacted locations.

Bengaluru has been experiencing severe rainfall since the month of September began. The rainfall has brought down the city’s infrastructure to its knees. The rain has especially impacted the IT hub of Bengaluru, with many offices inundated and employees have now been directed to work from home. Areas such as Marathahalli, Bellandur and Yemalur have also been affected, with water entering homes and apartments, forcing residents to shift to drier locations. 

According to official sources, most parts of the waterlogged roads have been cleared, while work is on for removing water in some of the worst hit areas that were inundated, amid some respite from rains. Traffic is almost returning to near-usual levels, and things may get back to normal very soon, they hoped.

Bengaluru traffic police have issued an advisory regarding water logging near 'RMZ Eco Space' on the Outer Ring Road among other areas. Also, the city's Cauvery water supply is said to have resumed to a large extent, after the supply was hit in some areas because of flooding at a pumping station in TK Halli, officials said.

Meanwhile, Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCT) are meeting Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday to assess the extent of damage suffered in the state due to floods in the months of July and August.

With PTI inputs