Rainbow Drive flooding: Some residents get notice for ‘encroachment’

The residents’ properties block major areas of the culvert, say authorities

The Bengaluru East tahsildar has issued notice to 13 residents of the luxury Rainbow Drive gated community in the city, which was flooded after heavy rain recently, for alleged encroachment of a storm-water drain.

The authorities alleged that the residents’ properties block major areas of the culvert, making the layout prone to flooding during the rain. “We have sent notice to 13 residents who have encroached the storm-water drain in the layout. We have conducted a survey to identify the encroachments and found 35 illegal encroachments near Junnasandra and Halanayakanahalli lake, which are near the Rainbow Drive layout,” tahsildar Ajith Kumar told The Hindu.

“This initial notice which we have sent is to the properties in Junnasandra survey numbers. On Tuesday, we are conducting a meeting with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) regarding the eviction drive and we will only evict the area where it is feasible for the water flow,” he added.

According to the Bengaluru district administration, Halanayakanahalli lake is the connecting lake for Junnasandra lake and Saul Kere. The layout is located near Halanayakanahalli lake. Whenever Junnasandra lake overflows, the water does not reach Halanayakanahalli lake due to the encroachments of its channel and that leads to the flooding, said officials.

Since August, the layout has flooded four times. In August first week, residents of Rainbow Drive layout took to the streets in protest against the civic authorities’ apathy. According to residents, the gated community was constructed about 25 years ago and has nearly 300 houses.

Whenever the layout is flooded with more than three feet of water, the residents are forced to use tractors and boats from their houses to the main gate to negotiate the stagnant rainwater. Days after the rain stopped in the city, tractors, boats, and rafts were being used by the layout residents while the Fire Department staff were draining water out continuously.

The layout is one of the posh localities on Sarjapur road which is spread over 36 acres, with about 400 plots varying from 1,500 sq. feet to 3,000 sq. feet in size.