Are we really safe from rain woes?

Are the authorities in Bengaluru waiting for another monsoon-induced disaster to occur like it happened last year, before acting on the drains, roads, power lines and overgrown vegetation?

Bengalureans are not new to rain havoc – in October last year, city residents including even those residing in posh localities went through a harrowing time as the deluge marooned their houses, damaged their high-end cars, left streets flooded with several feet high water and even made them fear for their lives as the swirling water showed no signs of receding soon.

Few leaders of the then ruling party ventured out to comfort residents or hear their cries; they were, however, happy that the reservoirs had filled up and were overflowing, ruling out the possibility of a drought or farm distress.

This year, the situation is no doubt different; the monsoon has been playing hide-and-seek in Karnataka with the water level in most dams in the Old Mysore region yet to reach comfortable levels, adding to the creases of worry of those in power.

There have been murmurs of discontent in neighbouring Tamil Nadu too, which claims upstream Karnataka has not been releasing the stipulated quantity of water from the Cauvery basin dams.

That, however, does not mean that ministers and civic officials in Bengaluru can rest on their lapels, assuming that the deficient rain scenario will continue.

With July and August being months that witness heavy rainfall every year, the skies could open up any time, leading to large-scale flooding. It’s time civic officials and elected representatives undertook a check of flood-prone localities to ensure that rajakaluves and storm-water drains have been cleared, trees have been trimmed of weak branches and underpasses have enough outlets to drain out rainwater.

There are already complaints that the unprecedented flooding Delhi witnessed in the past few days is because of the failure of the government to clear and de-silt the drains in the national capital.

There is no reason why this cannot happen in Bengaluru and more so in peripheral BBMP areas that hardly see any action by civic officials to ensure hygiene, timely garbage clearance or clean drains. Huge funds have no doubt been set aside for several city projects including more metro lines and for the white topping of roads in the state Budget.

But these are long term-projects that will take months and years to complete. What Bengalureans would like to see happen are quick and fool-proof measures to make sure their daily commute to office or home is not disrupted just because the streets are flooded after a shower or two.

The infamous potholes on city roads – for which the previous government was pilloried on a daily basis – have also started reappearing, bringing back haunting memories of the bone-wracking rides city residents once dreaded.

With the rains yet to get into full throttle, this is just the right time for the authorities to get into action and make sure pre-monsoon remedial measures are completed as fast as possible.

The present government seems to be caught in implementing the poll guarantees and has hardly been able to devote much attention to the infra woes of the city. It’s time this state of affairs changed.

The death of an IT employee by drowning in a car in a flooded underpass in the city a couple of months ago when pre-monsoon showers hit the city, should be enough of a reminder to everyone that a lot more needs to be done to make the tech hub safe and secure from rainrelated damage.

Bengalureans can be quite unforgiving for any neglect or complacency in this regard.