When Bengaluru drowned in record rains amid civic and political apathy

Downpour in the last week of August and first week of September brought Bengaluru, especially the IT corridor and the adjoining areas from east Bengaluru along the ORR to south-east Bengaluru, to a standstill. Various parts of the city were flooded and nothing was spared

An inundated Outer Ring Road (ORR) and Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway will perhaps be one of the defining images of 2022 as the city drowned in record rains along with civic and political apathy.

Downpour in the last week of August and first week of September brought Bengaluru, especially the IT corridor and the adjoining areas from east Bengaluru along the ORR to south-east Bengaluru, to a standstill. Various parts of the city were flooded and nothing was spared — tech parks, posh layouts, offices, major roads and houses.

The city not just made headlines on rain related damage, but also broke a 75-year old record. On September 4, according to the India Meteorological Department, the city received 131.6 mm of rainfall. This, according to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), was the third heaviest spell in the city for a 24-hour period in September in the past 75 years.

Bengaluru, home to hundreds of lakes — both alive and dead — also saw many lakes, including the Bellandur lake, breach, affecting areas around while also exposing the illegal encroachments of lakes in the city, resulting in a series of anti-encroachment drives of Storm Water Drains (SWDs).

The BBMP said a total of 162 lakes were filled to the brim, of which 126 breached this year after rain. Various experts and even residents’ welfare groups alleged that the sudden flooding was a result of the civic body’s mismanagement which led to the encroachment of lakes and the SWDs. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also blamed illegal encroachments in the south-east zone as the reason for flooding.

A study showed that in 1800, the city’s water bodies had a cumulative capacity to hold 35 tmcft of water. The average rainfall the city receives today is estimated to be around 15 tmcft of water and this year, it was only marginally higher. However, if most of the city’s lakes are overflowing and there are floods, it only means their holding capacity has dwindled severely.

To clear the encroachments of SWDs, the Chief Minister allocated ₹300 crore and also allocated ₹1500 crore for clearing out the stagnant water.