JOIN USBangalore Development Minister K J George on Tuesday visited waterlogged areas and listened to residents’ grievances. Here are excerpts from his interaction with the media.
What is the progress in desilting stormwater drains?
None of the previous governments had been serious about building SWDs. It is only in our government, through Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, that we have allotted a fund of Rs 800 crore to build SWDs to prevent floods. Funds were allotted last year and we are building SWDs of 200-odd km. It is not an easy work and it takes time to complete it.
Flooding has happened in the same areas as last year. What happened to all your promises?
It has not happened in the same places. Take the example of Kino signal junction near Anand Rao Circle that media keeps highlighting. There has been no flooding there, nor on JC Road. Earlier rainwater used to fill the entire BBMP office on that road. We have been working towards completely solving this issue, but it takes some time.
Many places in the city, including Koramangala and Indiranagar, have seen encroachments of SWDs holding back the flow of water. What is the status of the encroachment clearance drive?
We have finished the work in a few places. We are trying to effectively complete the work in the remaining areas so that residents do not face trouble.
Palike commissioner Manjunath Prasad said...
Has the BBMP or BWSSB identified areas where SWD work needs to be completed?
We have identified 408 locations in the city and work has been commissioned in the last three months. This is the first time that the government has allotted a separate budget for SWD work. It takes time to get an approval from the cabinet and for the tender process. We have finished the work in a few areas, but if it rains to this extent in a single day, SWDs do not have the capacity to hold the water. Out of the 842-km stretch, we have started work on 335 km. It takes time to finish the work in the entire city. Workers are involved in the job, irrespective of rain or shine.