Residents of flood-prone Bengaluru demand infrastructure over money

Sowmya Raju | NT

Bengaluru: Residents of floodprone areas in Bengaluru are demanding infrastructure over money after the government announced a compensation of Rs. 25,000 for each death caused by flooding in 2022.

Although compensation is yet to be provided, most citizens are demanding that the money be invested in better infrastructure.

The demand comes after a street audit by Reap Benefit. The campaign zero flood deaths found that over 1,000 areas in Bengaluru are at risk of flooding.

The audit, which was conducted by over 2,000 volunteers, found that many of these areas have been neglected by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for years.

"The government has been allocating budget for the development of infrastructure for years but there has been no solution for the past 5 to 6 years," said a resident of BTM Layout.

"We want the government to build infrastructure that will prevent flooding, not just give us compensation after the loss of life and property,” added the resident.

The areas at most risk of flooding are those that are located near rajakaluves, or storm water drains. These drains are often clogged with debris, which prevents them from draining properly during heavy rains. Zero flood deaths are calling on the government to clear the debris from the rajakaluves and to build retaining walls to prevent flooding.

The group is also calling for the government to educate residents about flood safety. The campaign has been supported by residents of flood-prone areas across Bengaluru, especially South Bengaluru including BTM Layout, Vijayanagara, Govidharaj Nagar, Basaveshwaranagar, and Mysore Road.

The group has also received support from environmental groups and civil society organisations. The government has not yet responded to the demands of the campaign.

However, the group is hopeful that the government will take action to prevent flooding in Bengaluru. Archana KR, director at Reap Benefit said, “We conducted 412 street audits in 65 wards of Bengaluru South and 8 Vidhan Sabha constituencies.”

What can be the solution?

Archana suggests that the BBMP address all of the issues that were recorded during the audit. She said that Reap Benefit sent a letter to the BBMP commissioner several weeks ago with the issues found in the audit, but there has been no response.

She said, "The government asked for citizen and NGO support to collect data, but I question whether they are actually considering crowdsourced data to make decisions. We still haven't received a response, so I'm looking to the BBMP for guidance on how citizens and NGOs can help solve local issues."