Bengaluru Rains: Karnataka High Court Directs BBMP To Forthwith Set Up Cell To Address Residents' Grievance

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to forthwith set up a grievance cell, ward wise, in order to address problems of residents who are facing hardships due to unprecedented rains in the city.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice S Vishwajith Shetty said, "For such purpose the ward engineer in each ward shall be notified to deal with the grievance of residents of the ward."

The court was also informed that a proposal is being prepared by the corporation to install sluice gates for all lakes in the city in order to regulate the overflow of water from the lakes during heavy rains and to prevent flooding.

The bench has directed that the proposal shall be prepared by BBMP and shall be expeditiously submitted to the state government for approval. Many parts of the city, especially several parts of south-east Bengaluru—- the IT corridor – have been witnessing heavy flooding during rain since August 30.

The directions were given during the hearing of a Public interest litigation filed by one Vijayan Menon in the year 2015, highlighting the problem of bad condition of roads in the city and overflowing of water from drains.

During the hearing the counsel for the BBMP informed the court that it has deputed pump sets and its officers are working 24*7 and trying to drain the water from affected areas.

Case Title: Vijayan Menon v. Secretary Urban Development Department

Case No: WP 42927/2015