1,600 residents of Yelahanka apartment marooned in Sunday downpour
Rain water swamps 300 cars in Yelahanka building basement and 12 flats on ground floor
North Bengaluru’s Yelahanka area sees 138 mm in just 3 hours on Sunday, 3,000 residents of locality suffer
‘Culprit’ is Storm Water Drain between Yelahanka and Jakkur lakes which overflowed after heavy Sunday rain
BENGALURU:
With nearly a month’s rain – as much as 138 mm – recorded in Yelahanka of North Bengaluru in just three hours on Sunday, around 3,000 residents of the area were literally marooned the entire day. Those affected included nearly 1,600 residents of Kendriya Vihar Apartment in Yelahanka’s Old Town (ward 1).
Not just the rains, the ‘culprit’ was also an overflowing Yelahanka Lake, which is spread over 180 acres and connected to Jakkur Lake.
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“The lake is downstream. The three hours of rain on Sunday recorded 138 mm and the connecting drain from Yelahanka Lake to Jakkur lake could not contain the heavy flow,” Yelahanka zone Executive Engineer Sudhakar Reddy told TheBengaluruLive.
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He said the connecting drain from Yelahanka Lake to Jakkur lake has an official width of 8 feet in the government records, and needs to be widened by another 33 feet. “The proposal has been sent to the BBMP head office and we are waiting to get a nod. The Transfer of Development Rights certificates need to be issued as BBMP needs to acquire property to widen the drain. Once the drain is widened, it will make for the smooth flow of water from Yelahanka Lake into Jakkur Lake,” Reddy said.
MLA, civic chief visit spot
Yelahanka MLA SR Vishwanath along with BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta visited the rain-affected locality and discussed the widening of the drain from Yelahanka lake to Jakkur lake. Both assured the affected residents of immediate relief.
As per reports, overflowing water from Yelahanka Lake had entered Kendriya Apartment three days ago and the entire stagnated water was drained out. But the relief was short-lived as Sunday’s 138 mm rain once again made them prisoners in their own homes as the water had covered the ground floor, flooding 12 flats on the floor. Kendriya Vihar Apartment has a stilt floor for parking and ten floors, including the ground floor. Of the 603 flats, nearly 400 flats are occupied while the rest are vacant.
This apart, roads in Kogilu Cross, Kondappa Layout and Tata Nagar were also inundated, and several independent houses, shops and streets were flooded.
Fire and rescue personnel, as well as State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams, were on the spot after water was reported to be more than 5 feet deep at various spots.
Drain passes through Apartment?
An engineer said the main culprit was the encroachment of the Storm Water Drain which runs adjacent to Kendriya Vihar Apartment and is covered up. According to another engineer, the Storm Water Drain, which is now covered up, passes through Kendriya Vihar Apartment.
As of now, from an engineering point of view, there’s no problem, the water will come down. We have deployed many boats, SDRF & other teams, to give emergency supplies to the residents: Gaurav Gupta, Chief Commissioner, BBMP pic.twitter.com/eNMauewUg6
— ANI (@ANI) November 22, 2021
Meanwhile, BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said some building violation seems to be prima facie the cause of the flooding. “Yelahanka received 138 mm rain in three hours. The average rainfall for November is 30 mm, and for any rainy month it is 100mm. So a month’s rain has been received in just a matter of hours, which has led to overflowing of lakes, in turn leading to flooding in low-lying areas,” he said. “Prima facie it looks like there has been some building violation in the case of Kendriya Vihar. The apartment is built in a low-lying area near the lake. It’s either built in a buffer area or they haven’t left enough space for drain water to flow. In any case, action will be taken soon if any violations are found,” Gupta added.
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