Following heavy rains on November 6 amid the northeast monsoon, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) administrator Rakesh Singh Tuesday directed the zonal commissioners to appoint an engineer in each ward for disaster management. The appointed engineer should be responsible for repairing potholes, and pavements and look after solid waste management. “In view of rain, precautionary measures should be taken at the place where works by Metro, Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM), Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is going on. The departments concerned should also expedite the works,” he said. Singh also instructed the officials from Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to open the sluice gates of Varthur and Bellandur lakes in view of Mahadevapura zone receiving excessive rainfall. BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said that in light of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast that said the city might receive rainfall till Friday, he said all the officials should be prepared to prevent rain damage. “During heavy rains in the city, water stagnates on the road and traffic becomes a major issue. The shoulder drains should be cleaned so that water flows smoothly from the road to the drains. Silt should be removed from the drains. Excessive water from the flooded areas should be removed with the use of pumps,” Nath said. Nath also directed the officials to prepare a zone wise list of houses which are flooded and said work should be done to provide them relief. Meanwhile, the IMD put Bengaluru on Yellow alert on Wednesday. In its forecast, the MeT department has predicted that the city will receive heavy rainfall on Wednesday. On November 6, the city received 71.6 mm of rainfall.
