Permanent solution in the pipeline for Bengaluru’s rain woes: Deputy CM

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka DK Shivakumar has said that the state government was working towards a permanent solution for rain woes in the city.

“We are working towards achieving a permanent solution for rain woes in Bengaluru,” he said after inspecting flood relief works in the city along with CM Siddaramaiah a few days ago.

“I have instructed officials to remove encroachments, but some people have got stays from the court. We have identified 211 areas prone to floods, of which we have fixed 166 issues. Works are pending in 44 other places and we are taking them on as well. The number of flood-affected areas has come down in Bengaluru. We are trying to give Bengaluru a new shape and we will do it,” he explained. 

“We inspected Mahadevapura constituency, where flooding was intense. Its MLA Aravind Limbavali has brought up the issue of road widening. I have asked him to submit a detailed report of all spots where land acquisition is obstructing road widening work. He also discussed the possibility of a 150-foot road, which we will look into. The BMRDA has issued a notification for two roads – 150-feet road and a 150-meter road. I have brought this to the attention of the CM and the matter will be discussed in the Cabinet soon,” the DCM added.

“We will discuss the flooding problem with the CM and local planning authorities and maybe ban basements in low-lying and flood-prone areas,” Shivakumar said.

Replying to a question on removal of encroachments, he said, “70 percent of the encroachments are removed and we are working on the rest.”