Bengaluru has been facing incessant rains, leading to infrastructural challenges. With waterlogging and flooding in most parts of the Karnataka capital, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner Tushar Girinath has said any city would have faced the same with this kind of rainfall.
Speaking to News18, Girinath said that with the amount of rain Bengaluru saw in one day, “any place in the world would have been inundated like Bengaluru.” “We had dozens of places that were inundated a couple of years ago. Today, they are not affected. The water in those places receded quickly. Adequate arrangements have been made, and quick-paced work helped ease the waterlogging. Traffic, which would typically have been slow-moving, returned to normal by 5 pm,” Girinath said.
The areas that saw intense flooding also had construction work, like the Metro or maintenance work by the BWSSB, that blocked the flow of water, said BBMP officials.
Not only have the inundated and waterlogged areas been provided immediate relief, but in places where water levels were high, they began receding through the night. Speaking to News18, Girinath explained that waterlogging occurred in some apartment complexes where the issue is a perennial one. “They face this issue often, and the situation is under control, with most of the water having been removed,” he said.
Responding to a question on how the massive downpour submerged areas, including videos of landmarks like Phoenix Mall of Asia and a key business and IT district, Manyata Tech Park, where large amounts of water flowed through the overbridges due to the collapse of an embankment wall at a construction site within the tech park, the BBMP Commissioner said that the situation was under control.
“They are pumping out the water due to heavy rainfall. The area received a large amount of water. All the water from the road flowed into their basements, and they are pumping it out. The area behind the mall is undeveloped, and the water from the field flowed into the mall, causing the flooding,” explained BBMP officials.
Girinath added that while the situation in Manyata has been controlled, an area called Sai Layout, which is located at the lowest point of the drain and is also built below the rajakaluve (storm water drains), saw waterlogging. Efforts are being made to mitigate such issues across the city, he explained.
“Compared to 2022, this is the only time they got flooded,” he said.
What Caused Bengaluru’s deluge?
Bengaluru experienced unprecedented rainfall, which MET officials have called the wettest October in five years. October 15 saw the city receive the highest amount of rainfall in a single day in the month of October since 2017.
On Tuesday, Bengaluru received 90 mm of rainfall compared to 66.3 mm in October 2023, 60.5 mm in October 2022, 63.8 mm in October 2021, 23.7 mm in October 2020, 38.9 mm in 2019, 48.7 mm in October 2018, and 76.6 mm in October 2017.
Dr N Puviarasan, a scientist at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Bengaluru, told News18 that the rainfall was due to the southwest monsoon officially withdrawing from the entire country as of October 15, 2024. There is also a well-marked low-pressure area over the south Bay of Bengal, and the northeast monsoon has begun over the southeast peninsular region.
“Data indicates that this is the highest rainfall in a single day in Bengaluru in the month of October, and it is expected to continue for 24 more hours. We expect the rains to recede after that,” he explained. The MET official added that with the onset of easterly and northeasterly winds over southern peninsular India, there has been widespread rainfall across the southeast, with isolated heavy downpours in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, and Kerala
Do risk assessment to mitigate Bengaluru’s flood problem: Civic expert
Civic evangelist V Ravichandar agrees that the major rains were unexpected, but the correct approach is to think through the flows of the water and ensure it gets drained out. Year after year, proper preparedness is lacking, Ravichandar stated. However, he also credited the work on the K100 drains, which have fared relatively well compared to earlier years. The areas where the BBMP has focused efforts on the drains have been relatively better at handling the deluge, he observed.
“The model seems to be: let the problem appear, then we will find out what the problem is and solve it so that next time it does not happen. Practically, we are not doing a risk assessment as to what can go wrong. A proactive assessment and action could have avoided the situation at Manyata park and Mall of Asia. Those areas will now get attention.”
Parched Bengaluru to be quenched by Cauvery Phase V
While Bengaluru struggles with rains and waterlogging, residents who endured parched months and paid through the nose a few months ago due to dry borewells are now heaving a sigh of relief, with the launch of the Cauvery Water Supply Stage V project becoming operational. The peripheral areas of Bengaluru, covering a population of over 50 lakh, have already started receiving Cauvery water as part of the pre-launch.
While the heavy rains disrupted normal life, the new Cauvery Water Supply Stage V project is a step towards addressing Bengaluru’s broader issues of water scarcity.
Bengaluru’s long-standing water shortage found some resolution with the launch of the Cauvery Water Supply Stage V project. This much-needed initiative launched by the Congress government will deliver an additional 775 million litres of water per day to the city’s outer areas, offering relief to residents who have been struggling with dry borewells and expensive water tankers.
The project is expected to alleviate water shortages for over 50 lakh people in Bengaluru’s expanding suburbs. These are the same areas that faced major water shortages in the summer months, where tanker operators charged up to ₹5,000 per supply as the city remained parched.
“One-third of Bengaluru will get water. There will be no problem for the next 10 years. Water will be covered for a population of 50 lakh. About ₹5,000 crores have been spent… Whatever I promised, I have delivered to the people of Bengaluru. I would like to congratulate the people of Bengaluru,” said Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar at the launch.
“To provide abundant water to 110 villages under the BBMP, the Cauvery Phase V drinking water project is being launched today at Torekadanahalli in Malavalli taluk,” he told the media.
The Cauvery Phase 5 Water Supply Project is one of the largest in India and will include the construction of the country’s largest water treatment plant, with a capacity of 775 MLD.
Three state-of-the-art booster pumping stations have been built at TK Halli, Harohalli, and Tataguni, allowing water to be pumped 450 metres high—equivalent to the height of a 50-storey building—through steel pipes that stretch across 110 kilometres to supply water to Bengaluru. The project is also supported by an advanced flood control system to ensure continuous operation even during flood-like situations.
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