Removal of Bengaluru’s storm-water drain encroachments resumes from Mahadevapura zone

The BBMP said in a statement that the encroachment in survey numbers 34, 19/3 and 17 at Spice Garden Layout will be cleared once the matter is resolved in courts.

The BBMP said in a statement that the encroachment in survey numbers 34, 19/3 and 17 at Spice Garden Layout will be cleared once the matter is resolved in courts.

Basavaraj Kabade, BBMP chief engineer (storm-water drains), said, “The encroachment clearance operation will resume in the Mahadevapura zone on June 19.”

The anti-encroachment drive was halted during the Assembly elections. During a visit to flood-prone areas last week, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar directed the BBMP to remove encroachments from the drains.

As many as 2,951 encroachments on drains have been identified since 2017. Of these, 2,167 encroachments have been removed. Cases pertaining to 118 encroachments are before courts and the remaining 666 encroachments are yet to be removed.

According to data released by the BBMP, the total length of primary and secondary drains running in the city is 859.9 km, of which 491 km was upgraded in 2021-22. Upgradation work on 195 km of storm-water drains was taken up in 2022-23. The civic body is yet to take up the upgradation of 173.9 km of drains. The work includes widening of the drains and construction of retaining walls and fences around them to avoid the entry of trash.