Poor planning, neglect of lakes to blame: Experts

NT Bengaluru: The widely held concept of a lake being a storage centre in case of floods and heavy rainfall and also a beauty spot, has drastically changed, says co-founder and convenor of Friends of Lakes V Ramprasad. He observes, “Most lakes here have lost their functions because of modernisation. Sluice gates have been thrown away, leading to rainwater not reaching the said lakes,” he added. Ramprasad also observed that the Kendriya Vihar Apartment complex was constructed over a sluice gate of the Yelahanka lake and added that he was not surprised by the heavy flooding. He slammed the civic authorities saying they do not have an effective plan to work with. “Manyata Tech Park used to be a wetland back then! Everybody knew that it would get flooded,” he claimed. Jaya Dhindaw, Urban Researcher pointed to the role of poor urban planning, lack of awareness, and the below par infrastructure for handling such rains. “The infrastructure capabilities of the city were not designed for the kind of events we see these days,'' she said.