Minister Basavaraj, BBMP chief Gupta inspect flood-prone Hennur area
Widening of railway bridge near Hebbal Valley will solve flooding problem: Chief Engineer (SWD) Prahallad
BENGALURU:
Ahead of the approaching monsoon rains, Urban Development Minister Byrathi Basavaraj and BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta did a recce of flood-prone areas in the city on Wednesday.
The duo visited Hennur Main Road, which had seen 90 mm of rain in just an hour last year, causing water-logging in the Sai Layout and Geddalahalli areas.
Chief Engineer (SWD) Prahallad said water flows through the Hebbal Valley to the Kalkere and Rampura lakes, and 60 mm per hour rainfall presents no problem but waterlogging occurs only if the rainfall is more than 80 mm. To address this issue, the narrow railway bridge near the Hebbal Valley should be widened, he said, and added that the Railways had given permission to widen the bridge. After the bridge-widening, there would be no problem in the area even if there was 130 mm or rain, Prahallad said.
The Minister noted that local residents are inconvenienced due to rainwater flowing to the Hebbal Valley from Sarvajnanagar, CV Raman Nagar and Hebbal. This must be addressed immediately, he said.
Kalkere lake
Waste water treated by the STP of BWSSB near Horamavu is released into the 183-acre Kalkere lake, as a result of which the lake is always full. The BBMP Chief Commissioner instructed Chief Engineer (Lakes) Mohan Krishna to drain out two feet of water from the lake before the monsoon so that the rainwater flows smoothly into the lake. Gupta also called for speeding up of the work on the lake’s inlet channel and 1,800-metre diversion channel.
Rampura lake
The Minister and the Chief Commissioner also visited the Rampura lake which is spread across 187 acres. A sum of Rs 35 crore has been earmarked for construction work at the lake under the Chief Minister’s Shubhra Bengaluru project. The duo called for the silt to be cleared and work on the diversion channel to be completed quickly.
Zonal Commissioner D Randeep and Joint Commissioner Venkatachalapathi were among the officials present.
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