Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai proposes sluice gates for Bengaluru lakes to prevent flooding in city

“It is not the entire Bengaluru that is affected but only two zones and particularly the Mahadevapura zone that is facing problems for two reasons – it has 69 tanks and all are overflowing, the second reason is that all establishments are on a lower level to the lakes, and the third reason is that encroachments have happened,” Bommai said Tuesday.

“We are going to put sluice gates for the tanks in order to manage them better,” Bommai said.

“This was the highest rainfall in the last 42 years. All the 164 tanks in Bengaluru are filled to the brim and the excess water along with rain is flooding residential areas in south Bengaluru,” the Karnataka CM said.

Bommai said some areas in Bengaluru City have received 150 percent more rain than the normal rain between September 1 and 5. Mahadevapura, Bommanahalli, and K.R.Puram have recorded 307 percent excess rain.

The city of Bengaluru has nearly 164 lakes at present. The city had as many as 272 lakes nearly five decades ago and many of the lakes in and around the city have been reclaimed by the state to facilitate the construction of residential and commercial properties.

According to a statement made by the BJP government in the state legislature last year as many as 1100 of the 1500 lakes in Bengaluru and its larger urban and rural districts have seen encroachments.

One of the consequences of lakes becoming prime real estate and even government agencies taking over lakes to set up bus stands, stadiums, and research centers, is the flooding seen during heavy rainfall and a sharp decline in the groundwater levels in the city of Bengaluru.

Karnataka CM Bommai has blamed the current flooding of many areas on maladministration by the previous governments. 

“This has happened because of maladministration, and totally unplanned administration of the previous Congress government. They have given permissions left, right, and center – in the lakes, on the tank bunds, in the buffer zones and that is the reason for flooding,” Bommai said on Tuesday.

“They have never thought of maintaining the lakes and I have now taken it as a challenge, and I have given 1500 crores to remove encroachments, and secondly, I have given Rs 300 crore yesterday to remove all the encroachments and to protect the rajakaluves so that in the future there will be no impediments,” the Karnataka CM said.

Earlier on Monday Bommai said Rs 9.50 crore had been released to establish a company of SDRF exclusively for the city of Bengaluru.

Bommai said a central team would arrive in Bengaluru to study the rain and flood situation on Tuesday night.

According to official data from the government, 5092 people are taking shelter in care centers in 17 districts following the rains over the last few days.

According to estimates of damage for the whole state agriculture crops on 14717 hectares and horticulture crops on 1374 hectares are damaged;  430 houses are severely damaged; 2188 houses are partially hit; 255 km of roads, bridges, culverts, and electric poles are damaged.