Bengaluru corporations and BWSSB ramp up monsoon preparedness ahead of rainfall

BWSSB chairman Ram Prasath Manohar directed officials to complete all sewer desilting works within the next 15 days and prioritize preventing flooding in low-lying areas and ensuring manholes do not overflow. Areas prone to rain-related damage should be identified immediately, and cleaning of manholes along with desilting must be completed within 15 days. Zonal Chief Engineers were urged to personally inspect field locations and submit comprehensive reports to the central office. A dedicated emergency response team was to be kept ready under each corporation’s jurisdiction, and public grievances addressed promptly.

Bengaluru East City Corporation, chaired by commissioner D.S. Ramesh, assessed maintenance of major stormwater drains and infrastructure works under the Chief Minister’s infrastructure development programme grants. Officials were asked to prepare ward-wise action plans for stormwater drain maintenance and to desilt drains every three months. It was announced that around 35 km of concrete drains in Mahadevapura zone and 45 km in K.R. Puram zone would undergo maintenance. Executive engineers were instructed to monitor works, set daily cleaning targets, and submit before-and-after drone footage as proof of maintenance.

Pommala Sunil Kumar, commissioner of the North City Corporation, chaired a review meeting and directed officials to complete desilting of all stormwater drains and canals before the monsoon. He ordered clearance of silt and garbage to restore free flow of rainwater, urged removal of roadside garbage heaps and prevention of waste dumping into major drains, and called for waste disposal discipline among commercial establishments. He stressed coordinating engineers, health officers, and sanitation staff, maintaining arterial and sub-arterial roads to prevent water stagnation, and identifying damaged roads, incomplete civic works, and dangerous buildings, with notices to unsafe structures to avert accidents.