George's whataboutery cuts no ice; many questions on flooding remain

BENGALURU: Last week's incessant downpour brought a deluge of woes for Bengalureans, who were marooned for hours, battling rising water levels, seeing their homes flooded and waiting helplessly for nature to show some mercy.

City development minister K J

George

believes Bengaluru gets flooded due to six reasons. He told reporters here on Tuesday: “The spells of rain were quite heavy and the city was unable to deal with the downpour. But there have been floods in

Gujarat

and Madhya Pradesh too. It's not a phenomenon restricted to Bengaluru alone.“ When presspersons pointed out that the city saw much less rain compared to the two states he mentioned, George ducked the question, saying there were several other vital reasons for the city getting inundated.

TOI looks at why the minister's reasons aren't quite convincing.

George: One of the worstaffected areas last week was ST Bed, Koramangala, 4th Block. The stormwater drain in the area was cemented and blocked, leading to water flowing back on to the streets. Efforts are on to open it.

TOI: For a fortnight, residents of the area had been complaining about flooding and virtually every Bengalurean knows ST Bed was among the worst-hit localities. Why is the minister waking up to this now?
George: The BBMP was a major encroacher of a SWD on JC Road. A multi-storey building in Kumbara Gundi Road encroached a SWD, leading to widespread waterlogging in the vicinity. The high court had taken cognizance of the matter and asked BBMP and the government to do a basic evaluation of the building before demolishing it.

TOI: Isn't it shameful that the very a g ency which should work for the city's development is violating l aw s a n d a l l ow i n g e n croachments? Will George now punish the BBMP officials who allowed such an encroachment in the first place?

George: The Shantinagar bus stand also encroached upon a SWD. BBMP is working on a SWD design to create a diversion for rain water to flow out.

TOI: A government body has encroached upon a drain, causing flooding in the city. As Bengaluru development minister, will George take on government agencies which violate their own rules?

George: In HSR Layout, closing of the SWD prevented rain water from being released into Madivala Lake. There is an ongoing dispute between the forest department and the BBMP.The forest department has control of the lake and is bound by the National Green Tribunal order that prevents it from releasing untreated water from SWD into the lake.

TOI: Why is there no proper infrastructure in place to release only treated water into the lake?

George: The

Arakere Lake

on Bannerghatta Road is under dispute over encroachments, with a private party having approached the high court over 8 acres of the lake bed. As a result, water from the stormwater drain has not been released into the lake, leading to heavy waterlogging on the busy Bannerghatta stretch.

TOI: How did the minister allow the

Lake Development Authority

to remain a mute spectator while the lakes vanished?
George: Incomplete work on the 842 km-long SWD in the city. The government has released Rs 300 crore for completing the works and interconnecting waterbodies for steady flow of water.TOI; Why is it that Bengaluru has never been a priority for the state government? In the absence of adequate measures year after year, the government has shown little interest in completing crucial works in the city.