Only long-term solutions can stem Doddakannelli flooding

Sanjay R Murty

 Bengaluru

Doddakannelli Ward (new number 116) is situated along Sarjapur Road on the southeastern end of the city. Prior to the recent delimitation of wards, the locality fell under Bellandur Ward.

 Doddakannelli is a village in the Varthur Hobli and came under the gram panchayat before being included in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike limits. It is now a ward in the Mahadevapura zone of the BBMP. Doddakannelli Ward falls under the Mahadevapura Assembly Constituency and Bangalore Central Parliamentary Constituency.

Doddakannelli Ward includes Doddakannelli village, a small part of the neighbouring Halanayakanahalli village (with a separate gram panchayat), Junnasandra, Rainbow Drive Layout, Sunny Brooks, Kasavanahalli and Kaikondrahalli.

The ward mostly has gated communities, apartment complexes and real estate projects. Wipro, Global Technology Park, RMZ Ecoworld, Ecospace and Pritech are also part of Doddakannelli Ward. Several localities within this ward were flooded last week following heavy rains. These include Rainbow Drive, Sunny Brooks and Kaikondrahalli. Apart from these residential communities, office spaces and tech parks such as Ecospace, Eco World and Global Tech Park were also inundated.

 The ward is dotted with several lakes including Doddakannelli Lake, Kaikondrahalli Lake, Kasavanahalli Lake, Haralur Lake and Saul Kere. Rajakaluves connecting these lakes transport storm water from Haralur Lake, Kasavanahalli Lake, Kaikondrahalli Lake and Saul Kere to the drain that exits at Bellandur Lake. Ecospace Tech Park is situated between Saul Kere and Bellandur rajakaluve. With Saul Kere being neglected, its water holding capacity has reduced, leading to regular overflow. This led to flooding on the Outer Ring Road’s stretch along Bellandur and also in the adjacent residential community of Adarsh Palm Retreat.

 The locality in Doddakannelli Ward that was most affected by rains was Rainbow Drive. Residents of the layout had to be evacuated using boats and tractors as rainwater flooded their homes and roads. Rainbow Drive is situated at a lower altitude than Sarjapur Road. On the other hand, Halanayakanahalli Lake also overflows towards the layout. This leads to a flood-like situation in the area every time there is a heavy downpour. Water has still not receded completely from the layout, with roadside drains still filled with rainwater from last week’s deluge.

A resident of Rainbow Layout told News Trail that Halanayakanahalli Lake lacks basic infrastructure like a bund, retaining walls and well-defined inlets and outlets. “Apart from the storm-water drains, the lake also overflows onto the roads. Since it is under the administration of the gram panchayat, coordination between the panchayat members and BBMP officials is the need of the hour,” he said.

Poor maintenance of stormwater drains is also a contributing factor to flooding. Garbage dumped in some drains remains un-cleared and that leads to blockage. A major culvert is being built across Sarjapur Road to solve the issue of flooding in Rainbow Drive and surrounding areas.

However, the work has caused a traffic bottleneck on Sarjapur Road as vehicles plying on both sides are left with only half of the road here. Nodal officer for Doddakannelli Ward Committee GA Markandaiah told News Trail that work on the drain is expected to be complete in about one month.

“The major complaint of the residents here is with regard to rain damage. Several immediate measures have been taken and some long-term measures are to be taken. This includes demolition of encroaching structures in places like Munnekollala,” the officer said.

 Kasavanahalli Main Road has several stretches with large and dangerous potholes. There are also several garbage black spots along the road. IAS Layout off Kasavanahalli Main Road lacks asphalted roads, as do many other bylanes off the main road here.

 Roads of Radha Reddy Layout near Rainbow Drive are in a similar condition. Potholes on NR Layout road near Bellandur make the stretch a dangerous one for commuters