Bengaluru: While the weatherman are predicting a weak monsoon, the recent few showers have been anything but, unleashing their fury on a city unprepared for such havoc. Fallen trees, damaged property and flooded houses have made people’s lives miserable already and the indifference of our agencies is giving scope for more sleepless nights.
For the BBMP, housekeeping should have started several months ago, with the Raintrees and Gulmohars being rid of their dead branches and drains desilted to ensure unhindered flow of water to the lakes and prevent flooding and diseases that break out with regularity every monsoon. As dengue outbreaks have brought the city to its knees this time of the year in the past, the health department should stock our clinics and hospitals with the necessary drugs and disseminate information on water storage and general cleanliness.
Proper disposal of solid waste will also help in combating deadly diseases that are a result of groundwater contamination. While BESCOM should trim all branches of trees and complete routine maintenance of transformers well in time for the monsoons, the BWSSB must take care to plug leaks in its sewage lines before they contaminate the water lines.
The Lake Development Authority should make sure it cleans the overflow weirs from lakes to ensure optimum overflow capacity and install trash racks along the rajakaluves to prevent loss of life. In short, all agencies have a role to play in ensuring that people are able to enjoy this monsoon, rather than dread it.
