Is Bengaluru ready for monsoon?

One prime reason why the BJP, which was in power in Karnataka till May 13, lost the polls is the fact that it could hardly work out a plan for resolving the problems of the IT City when heavy rains turned many areas into pools last year.

Every locality in Bengaluru was affected and even the Bengaluru International Airport was not spared by the rains, which sent out a message loud and clear to the nation and even across the world that our civic infrastructure could not cope with a deluge.

Though the saffronists did fare well in Bengaluru in the polls winning 16 of the 28 seats, it is obvious that their inability to act in time to resolve the pre-monsoon and monsoon woes, did damage the party’s image among the electorate.

Now that we have a new party in power and the pre-monsoon showers have already started, an action plan will have to be framed and implemented to make sure we do not go down the same road once again. Desilting of drains - both large and small - pruning of weak tree branches which could collapse and disrupt life and even power distribution, and the identification and setting right of spots prone to flooding, should rank high among the priorities of the government.

There have been instances in the past of buses getting stuck in flood waters endangering the lives of passengers and there have also been cases of people getting washed away in storm water drains with the swirling waters not giving any opportunity to save them.

Houses particularly weak and old structures have collapsed killing people and BBMP officials, who now have poll duties off their shoulders, should be assigned the task of identifying such structures so that shifting of residents and other preventive measures can be taken in time.

 Bengaluru’s pothole-ridden roads are notorious for claiming the lives of unsuspecting citizens and the danger increases manifold during the monsoon when two-wheeler riders and pedestrians can hardly identify if the stretch ahead is good enough for a safe ride.

Many a life has been lost and limb broken on such stretches and the government will surely earn the goodwill of citizens if it sets right the roads in the precious little time available before the rains start. People have seen the wanton damage caused by the premonsoon rains which led to the distressing death of a techie in a flooded underpass recently; one can be sure that the flooding will be much higher when the actual monsoon is here.

And what is crucial is the fact that anything which happens in Bengaluru - good or bad -makes national and global news immediately which renders it all the more important for those in government to make sure they do not slip and trip in governing the city like the previous government did.

There are many veterans in the new government who are more than well acquainted with its problems and it will be an easy task for them to come up with a fool-proof plan to ensure rain damage, if it happens, is kept to the minimum.

They will also have to envisage plans to control its unplanned growth and ensure quality infrastructure in the outskirts besides improving of course, the transport system. But the focus right now should be on getting the city monsoon-ready for which a herculean effort should be launched on a war footing.

Bengalureans like anyone else, can be unforgiving if the difference in governance is not perceptible.