Sewerage water and filth floods temple, again!

All hopes that the BBMP had prepared the city to face the monsoon were dashed and reality struck home after Bangalore faced the pounding rain yesterday.


Sinking feeling: The area was knee-high in filth and sewerage water,
which entered houses and the temple from a drain. Pic/Satish Badiger

The Gali Anjanaya Temple on Mysore Road was flooded with dirty water from the streets and incidentally, the BBMP had drawn flak from all quarters when the temple was flooded in September last year. The BBMP has shown failure yet again, as no rectification measures were taken to prevent a repeat of the situation. Parts of theu00a0 ward were knee-high in filth and sewerage water, which entered houses and the temple from a drain.

Nothing but hope
"We have been complaining to the local corporator about constructing a wall to prevent water from gushing into houses and temples in the area. Only after such situations occur, do they bother coming down and inspecting the area," alleged S Manjunath, a local resident.

Accepting the blame, V Krishna, the local BBMP corporator later rushed to the area and tried to pacify the residents. "As an elected corporator, I have been waiting for the budget to be decided, without which nothing can be done. I was hoping to raise the compound on the culvert leading to the Vrishabathi Lake, but the unpredictable monsoon has vented its wrath," he said.

BBMP unashamed
Civic Commissioner H Siddhaiah, however did not seem perturbed by the incident. "A wall built to stop the water has collapsed and that is why we are facing this issue. De-silting work is going on and since the drain here are very narrow, it could not hold that much water. We are upgrading the drainage system, but the real problem is that the contractors abandoned work midway," he complained.

Siddhaiah's statement however elicited a furious reaction from temple priest Srinivasa Bhattacharaya.
He said, "Heavy rains have left the temple full of sewage water, filth and garbage. It is shocking that this is the second time we are facing such a problem and it is high time the officials do something about it before the problem worsens."